Class 




Bnnfcr y4 7 fa 

fifyiMif W IP ^ 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



HISTORY OF 

HENRIE THE 

FOYRTH; 

With the battellat Shrewsturie ? 

betweene the King and Lord 

Henry Percy , (urnamed 

HcnrieHotfpur of 

the North. 

With the humorous conceits of Sir 
IohnFalftalffe. 




AT LONDON, 

Printed by P. S. for tAndrewWife, dwelling 

in Paules Churchyards the fignc of 

theAogelL l%9%+ 



Facsimile of Title-Page, First Quarto 



OJ^JUeo^n C %1^J^4^^>^ 




KING HENRY 
THE FOURTH 




PART I 

INTRODUCTION JTO NOTES W 

HENKfNORMAN 
HUDSON, LLDT^ 

EDITED AND ILEVrSEDBY 

EBENEZER CHARITON 
BLACK LL-D- (GLASGOW) 



2nS^ 




GINN AND COMPANY 

BOSTON NEWYORK CHICAGO LONDON 
ATLANTA DALLAS COLUMBUS SAN FRANCISCO 

2 3 



M 



TO 



^ 

**<*> 






Entered at Stationers' Hall 



Copyright, 18S0 
By HENRY N. HUDSON 



Copyright, 1908 
By KATE W. HUDSON 



Copyright, 1922 
By GINN AND COMPANY 



ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 



422.9 



DEC -6 i 



3Ebe gtftengum grcgg 

GINN AND COMPANY • PRO- 
PRIETORS • BOSTON • U.S.A. 



CI A 6 922 3 3 



PREFACE 

The text of this edition of King Henry the Fourth, 
Part I, is based on a collation of the earlier Quartos and 
the seventeenth century Folios, the Globe edition, the 
Cambridge (W. A. Wright) edition of 1891, and that of 
Delius (1882). As compared with the text of the earlier 
editions of Hudson's Shakespeare, it is conservative. Ex- 
clusive of changes in spelling, punctuation, and stage di- 
rections, very few emendations by eighteenth century and 
nineteenth century editors have been adopted ; and these, 
with the more important variations from the First Folio, 
are indicated in the textual notes. These notes are printed 
immediately below the text, so that a reader or student 
may see at a glance the evidence in the case of a disputed 
reading, and have some definite understanding of the rea- 
sons for those differences in the text of Shakespeare which 
frequently surprise and very often annoy. Such an ar- 
rangement should be of special help in the case of a play 
so widely read and not infrequently acted, as actors and 
interpreters seldom agree in adhering to one text. A con- 
sideration of the more poetical, or the more dramatically 
effective, of two variant readings will often lead to rich 
results in awakening a spirit of discriminating interpreta- 
tion and in developing true creative criticism. In no sense 
is this a textual variorum edition. The variants given are 
only those of importance and high authority. 



Vi THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

The spelling and the punctuation of the text are mod- 
ern, except in the case of verb terminations in -ed, which, 
when the e is silent, are printed with the apostrophe in its 
place. This is the general usage in the First Folio. The 
important contractions in the First Folio which may in- 
dicate Elizabethan pronunciation (T th" for 'in the/ 
'wond'red' for 'wonder'd,' for example) are also followed. 
Modern spelling has to a certain extent been adopted in 
the text variants, but the original spelling has been re- 
tained wherever its peculiarities have been the basis for 
important textual criticism and emendation. 

With the exception of the position of the textual vari- 
ants, the plan of this edition is similar to that of the old 
Hudson Shakespeare. It is impossible to specify the vari- 
ous instances of revision and rearrangement in the matter 
of the Introduction and the interpretative notes, but the 
endeavor has been to retain all that gave the old edition 
its unique place and to add the results of what seems vital 
and permanent in later inquiry and research. In this edi- 
tion, as in the volumes of the series already published, 
the chapters entitled Sources, Date of Composition, Early 
Editions, Versification and Diction, Duration of Action, 
Dramatic Construction and Development with Analysis 
by Act and Scene, and Stage History are wholly new. In 
this edition, too, is introduced a chronological chart cover- 
ing the important events of Shakespeare's life as man and 
as author, and indicating in parallel columns his relation 
to contemporary writers and events. As a guide to read- 
ing clubs and literary societies, there has been appended 
to the Introduction a table of the distribution of charac- 
ters in the play, giving the acts and scenes in which each 



PREFACE vii 

character appears and the number of lines spoken by 
each. The index of words and phrases has been so ar- 
ranged as to serve both as a glossary and as a guide to 
the more important grammatical differences between 
Elizabethan and modern English. 

While it is important that the principle of suum cuique 
be attended to so far as is possible in matters of research 
and scholarship, it is becoming more and more difficult to 
give every man his own in Shakespearian annotation. The 
amount of material accumulated is so great that the 
identity-origin of much important comment and sugges- 
tion is either wholly lost or so crushed out of shape as to 
be beyond recognition. Instructive significance perhaps 
attaches to this in editing the works of one who quietly 
made so much of materials gathered by others. But the 
list of authorities given on page lv will indicate the 
chief source of much that has gone to enrich the value of 
this edition. Especial acknowledgment is here made of 
the obligations to Dr. William Aldis Wright and Dr. Hor- 
ace Howard Furness, whose work in the collation of 
Quartos, Folios, and the more important English and 
American editions of Shakespeare has been of so great 
value to all subsequent editors and investigators. 

With regard to the general plan of this revision of Hud- 
son's Shakespeare, Professor W. P. Trent, of Columbia 
University, has offered valuable suggestions and given 
important advice. 



CONTENTS 



INTRODUCTION 

Page 

. . . xi 

I. Sources 

The Political Action 

Holinshed's Chronicles 

Hall's Chronicle 

Stow's Annals 

Daniel's Civil Wars 

The Comic Scenes 

The Famous Victories oe Henry the Fifth .' xvi 
The Name 'Falstaff' xvu 

II. Date of Composition 

External Evidence xxm 

Internal Evidence XX1V 

XXV 

III. Early Editions 

« ... xxv 

Quartos 

... xxvi 
toLio:: 

XXVll 

Rowe's Editions 

IV Versification and Diction xxvm 

TT ... xxvm 

Blank Verse 

Alexandrines 

. . . xxx 

Rhyme 

.... xxxi 
Prose 

V. Dramatic Construction and Development . . xxxii 
Analysis by Act and Scene XXX1U 

xxxvii 
VI. Duration of Action 

P. A. Daniel's Time Analysis xxxvm 

ix 



X THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

Page 

VII. Historical Connections xxxix 

Genealogical Table xl 

VIII. The Characters xlii 

The King xlii 

Hotspur xliii 

Glendower xliv 

The Prince xliv 

Falstaff xlvi 

IX. Stage History xlix 

The Seventeenth Century 1 

The Eighteenth Century lii 

The Nineteenth Century lii 

Authorities (with Abbreviations) lv 

Chronological Chart lvi 

Distribution of Characters lx 

THE TEXT 

Act I 3 

Act II 36 



Act III 



79 



Act IV in 

Act V 130 

Index of Words and Phrases 155 

FACSIMILE 
Title-Page, First Quarto Frontispiece 



INTRODUCTION 

Note. In citations from Shakespeare's plays and nondramatic 
poems the numbering has reference to the Globe edition, except in 
the case of this play, where the reference is to this edition. 

I. SOURCES 

The ultimate source of all Shakespeare's plays which 
are based directly on English history, is that fervor of na- 
tional enthusiasm which characterized the closing decade 
of the sixteenth century in England. It is significant that 
the serious Elizabethan drama began in patriotism and 
had a distinct political motive. The perils and difficulties 
of a nation rent asunder by bitterly opposing factions 
confronted Queen Elizabeth at the beginning of her reign, 
and when Thomas Sackville and Thomas Norton, both of 
them soon to be recognized as shrewd political leaders, 
wrote Gorboduc, the first regular English tragedy, their 
main object was to warn the English people of the danger 
in a kingdom divided against itself and to show the 
maiden queen the perils involved in uncertainty as to 
legitimate succession to a throne. The story material of 
Gorboduc was taken from British legendary history, and 
blank verse, destined to be the great national measure, 
was here used for the first time in an original English 
play. With the steady growth of national spirit devel- 
oped the taste for chronicle plays dealing with the his- 
tory of the nation in its formative period. The national 



xii THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

drama grew up with the increasing pride of nation. In 
the defeat of the Armada this national consciousness 
reached full tide, and when Shakespeare began to write 
for the stage, the chronicle play dealing with stirring mo- 
ments in the story of Britain was the dominant type of 
serious drama. Alert and sensitive to contemporary in- 
fluences, as a popular writer for the theatre must be, 
Shakespeare wrote ten history plays, which, beginning in 
imitation and collaboration, show steadily increasing 
power and originality till they culminate in a supreme 
trilogy — two plays on the reign of Henry the Fourth and 
one on that of Henry the Fifth, the hero king who won 
the battle of Agincourt. 

The Political Action 

i. Holinshed' s Chronicles} As in his other plays deal- 
ing with English history, Shakespeare derived the great 
body of his material for King Henry the Fourth from 
the Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, of 
Raphael Holinshed (Holynshed, Hollynshed, Holling- 
shead, etc.), first published in two folio volumes in 1577. 
A second edition appeared in 1 586-1 587, "newlie aug- 
mented and continued." In this second edition are many 
significant changes in the text, and the fact that Shake- 
speare adopts these 2 strengthens the conclusion that this 

1 In W. G. Boswell-Stone's Shakspere's Holinshed are given all 
the portions of the Chronicles which are of special interest to the 
student of Shakespeare. 

2 For example, * pick-thanks,' used by Shakespeare in III, ii, 25, 
is found only in the second edition of the Chronicles. Boswell-Stone 
gives many proofs of this kind from the various plays in which 
Shakespeare takes material directly from Holinshed. 



INTRODUCTION xiii 

was the edition used by him. It is interesting to find 
that many of Holinshed's inaccuracies are repeated in the 
play. Among these may be mentioned the confusing of 
Edward Mortimer, the second son of the first Earl of 
March, with his nephew, the Earl of March, who was 
legitimate heir to the throne (I, iii, 84, see note), and the 
naming of the Earl of Fife as son to the conquered Doug- 
las (I, i, 71-72, see note). Everywhere in King Henry the 
Fourth the source material is treated with much more 
freedom than in the case of the earlier history plays, such 
as King Richard the Second. Among the more striking 
deviations from the Chronicles are: (1) the change in 
the ages of King Henry and Hotspur, who for the pur- 
pose of dramatic contrast is made exactly the same age 
as Prince Henry; (2) the shifting of the reconciliation 
between the king and the prince (III, ii) to a much earlier 
period than Holinshed allows; (3) the representation of 
the prince as the rescuer of his father and the victor over 
Hotspur (V, iv) ; (4) the absence of Glendower and his 
Welsh adherents from the battle of Shrewsbury; and 
(5) the introduction of Prince John of Lancaster, Lady 
Percy, and Lady Mortimer, who are not mentioned by 
Holinshed in the narrative of the first part of the Percy 
rebellion. Some of these changes were probably due to 
the influence of Daniel, who in the fourth book of his 
epic poem, The Civil Wars (see below), traverses the same 
historical ground and arranges his matter as a poet would. 
Shakespeare's deviations from Holinshed and from the 
bald facts of history are in the interests of dramatic 
economy, dramatic time, and artistic effectiveness. The 
essential facts are not altered. He deals with source 



xiv THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

material as Scott did in his historical novels, and as 
Turner treated the features of a landscape in his pictures 
of places. Shakespeare selects and arranges details to get 
the spirit of a movement and the imaginative truth of a 
series of events. 

2. Hall's Chronicle. For not a few of the minor inci- 
dents and details of his historical plays Shakespeare draws 
on what is usually called Hall's Chronicle, the original 
title of which is The Union of the Noble and Illustre 
Famelies of Lancastre and York, by Edward Hall (Halle), 
first published in 1542. In at least one passage in King 
Henry the Fourth, Part I (III, i, 149-^50), is obvious in- 
debtedness to this source. While Holinshed reports " a vaine 
prophesie, as though King Henrie was the moldwarpe 
. . . and they three were the dragon, the lion, and the 
woolfe, which should diuide this realme betweene them," 
no mention is made of Merlin. In Hall's Chronicle is 
this passage: "a certayne writer writeth that this earle 
of Marche, the Lorde Percy and Owen Glendor wer vn- 
wysely made beleue by a Welsh Prophecier that king 
Henry was the Moldwarpe ... by the deuiacion and 
not deuinacion of that mawmet 1 Merlyne." Merlin is 
also credited with the prophecy in The Legend of Glen- 
dour in The Mirrour for Magistrates, 1559. 

3. Stow's Annals. Another of Shakespeare's source 
books in English history is Annates, or a General Chronicle 
of England from Brut until the present yeare of Christ, 
1580, by John Stow (Stowe). Stow, one of the early 
editors of Chaucer, was a diligent historian and antiquary, 
and assisted in the continuation of Holinshed's Chron- 

iCf. II, iii, 91. 



INTRODUCTION xv 

ides. In the Annals he gives some details of the "recrea- 
tion " robberies in which Prince Henry indulged, and says : 
"accompanied with some of his yong Lords and gentle- 
men, he would wait in disguised aray for his owne re- 
ceiuers, and distresse them of their money ; and sometimes 
at such enterprises both he and his company were surely 
beaten: and when his receiuers made to him their com- 
plaints how they were robbed in their comming vnto him, 
hee would give them discharge of so much money as they 
had lost ; and, besides that, they should not depart from 
him without great rewards for their trouble and vexa- 
tion." So in II, iv, 540-541, Shakespeare makes Prince 
Henry say in regard to the booty taken from the travelers 
on Gadshill, "The money shall be paid back again with 
advantage." 

4. Daniel 7 s Civil Wars. Entered in The Stationers 7 
Registers, October, 1594, and published in the following 
year, was an interesting historical poem in ottava rima 
by Samuel Daniel, entitled The First Four Bookes of the 
Civil Wanes between the Howses of Lancaster and Yorke. 
In the fourth book the subject is the reign of Henry the 
Fourth, and here Shakespeare's more noteworthy devia- 
tions from Holinshed, mentioned above, are anticipated. 
In a remarkable passage, too, Daniel refers to "wrong- 
revenging Nemesis" dogging the king because he is an 
usurper — a significant suggestion of the brooding fears 
which Shakespeare attributes to him (III, ii, 4-7) as the 
result of what in King Henry the Fourth, Part II (IV, v, 
185-186), he is made to describe as the "by-paths and 
indirect crook'd ways I met this crown." 



xvi THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

The Comic Scenes 

5. The Famous Victories 0) Henry the Fifth. Shake- 
speare's subplots and comic scenes are usually of his own 
invention, and nothing in humorous literature is more 
original in its general spirit and atmosphere than the 
glorious comedy associated with Falstaff and his fellows. 
The mere letter of this matter is developed from a crude 
anonymous chronicle play entered in The Stationers' 
Registers, 1594, under the title The famous victories of 
HENR YE the FFYFTH conteyninge the honorable battell 
of Agin-court. This play was acted as early as 1588 and 
printed in 1598 "as it was plaide by the Queenes Maies- 
ties Players." In the first half the old tavern in East- 
cheap is mentioned as the scene of the prince's revelries ; 
much is made of his association with such boon compan- 
ions as Sir John Oldcastle (familiarly known as 'Jockey' 
and the original name of Falstaff in Shakespeare's play), 
Ned (Poins's name is c Edward'), Gadshill, and the Host- 
ess; here is a carrier journeying to London with a " great 
rase of ginger" (II, i, 22), and with no small gusto is 
represented the robbery of the king's receivers at Gads- 
hill, followed by the tavern quarrel which leads to the 
intervention of the sheriff. One passage, in which Dericke 
and John Cobler act out the arraignment of the prince 
before the chief justice, when the prince gives his lordship 
a box on the ear and is immediately committed to prison, 
may be quoted as showing a very probable suggestion 
for the bit of splendid comedy (II, iv, 370-472) where 
Falstaff and Prince Henry enact an imaginary meeting 
between the prince and his father : 



INTRODUCTION xvn 

Dericke. Faith John, He tell thee what, thou shalt be my 
Lord Chiefe Justice, and thou shalt sit in the chaire, 
And ile be the yong Prince, and hit thee a box on the eare, 
And then thou shalt say, to teach you what prerogatives meane, I 
commit you to the Fleete. 

John. Come on, Ile be your Judge, 
But thou shalt not hit me hard. 

Dericke. No, no. 

John. What hath he done? 

Dericke. Marry he hath robd Dericke. 

John. Why then I cannot let him goe. 

Dericke. I must needs have my man. 

John. You shall not have him. 

Dericke. Shall I not have my man, say no and you dare. 
How say you, shall I not have my man ? 

John. No marry shall you not. 

Dericke. Shall I not John? 

John. No Dericke. 

Dericke. Why then take you that till more come, 
Sownes, shall I not have him? 

John. Well I am content to take this at your hand, 
But I pray you who am I ? 

Dericke. Who art thou, Sownds, doost not know thy selfe? 

John. No. 

Dericke. Now away simple fellow, 
Why, man, thou art John the Cobler. 

John. No, I am my Lord Chiefe Justice of England. 

Dericke. Oh John, Masse thou saist true, thou art indeed. 

John. Why then, to teach you what prerogatives mean, I com- 
mit you to the Fleete. 

The Name 'Falstaff' 

The original name of Falstaff in both parts of King 
Henry the Fourth was Oldcastle. This is established be- 
yond question by evidence internal (within the two 
plays) and external (contemporary references and allu- 



xviii THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

sions). In Part I, I, ii, 40-41, Prince Henry calls Fal- 
staff "my old lad of the castle." In II, ii, 106, the 
metrically defective line, "Away, good Ned. Falstaff 
sweats to death," is made normal when 'Oldcastle' is 
substituted for 'Falstaff.' In Part II, III, ii, 25-26, 
Falstaff is said to have been "page to Thomas Mowbray, 
Duke of Norfolk," as the historical Oldcastle actually 
was; and in the Quarto version the abbreviation c 01d.' 
is actually left standing before one of Falstaff's speeches 
(I, i, 113-115). But the most important internal evidence 
is the explicit statement in the Epilogue of Part II, 27- 
30: "for any thing I know, Falstaff shall die of a sweat, 
unless already a be kill'd with your hard opinions ; for 
Oldcastle died a martyr, and this is not the man." 

Sir John Oldcastle, "the good Lord Cobham," was a 
famous Lollard who suffered martyrdom early in the 
fifteenth century. After his death his character was held 
up to ridicule and worse by his enemies, who circulated 
the story that he was a glutton, a profligate, and above 
all a corrupter of Prince Henry. This is the Oldcastle of 
The Famous Victories, and there is evidence that Henry 
Brooke, eighth Lord Cobham, son of Elizabeth's Lord 
Chamberlain, who claimed descent from Oldcastle, took 
steps to check the degradation of the memory of the dis- 
tinguished martyr. 1 One interesting attempt to offset the 
vilification of Oldcastle on the public stage was made in a 
play in two parts, acted in 1599, and entered in The 
Stationers' Registers, August 11, 1600, under the title 

x "By a curious coincidence, Cooling Castle, the property of Old- 
castle's third wife, where he shut himself up for a time in 1413, is 
situate in the vicinity of Gadshill."— A. W. Ward. 



INTRODUCTION xix 

History of the Life of Sir John Oldcastle, Lord Cobham, 
with his Martyrdom. Of two early editions of the first 
part of this counterblast one has Shakespeare's name 
impudently foisted on the title-page. This use of his 
name may have led to its inclusion among Shakespeare's 
writings in the Third Folio/ and to its being recognized 
by Schlegel and Tieck as unquestionably by Shakespeare. 2 
The Prologue makes clear that it was intended as a reply 
to Shakespeare's treatment of the famous knight : 

It is no pampered glutton we present, 
Nor aged Councellor to youthful sinne; 
But one whose vertue shone above the rest, 
A valiant martyr and a vertuous Peere. 

Such agitation as these facts indicate unquestionably 
led Shakespeare to substitute the name of Falstaff for 
that of Oldcastle. According to Nicholas Rowe (1674- 
17 18), Shakespeare's earliest biographer, who preserves 
many traditions, collected for him at Stratford and else- 

1 "Unto this impression," runs the title-page of the second issue 
of the Third Folio, 1664, "is added seven Playes never before printed 
in folio, viz. : Pericles, Prince of Tyre. The London Prodigal. The 
History of Thomas Ld. Cromwell. Sir John Oldcastle, Lord Cob- 
ham. The Puritan Widow. A Yorkshire Tragedy. The Tragedy of 
Locrine." Pericles has of course its rightful place in the Shakespeare 
canon ; the other six are spurious pieces which had been attributed 
by unscrupulous publishers to Shakespeare in his lifetime. They 
may be called the Shakespeare Apocrypha. 

2 The real authorship is made fairly clear by an entry in Hens- 
lowe's Diary, October 16, 1599: "payd for the first part of the 
Lyfe of Sir Jhon Ouldcastell, and in earnest of the Second Pte. for 
the use of the company, ten Pound." The money was received by 
"Thomas Downton to paye Mr. Monday, Mr. Drayton, Mr. Wilson 
and Hathaway." 



xx THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

where by Thomas Betterton, the famous actor, the change 
was due to a court command: "This part of Falstaff is 
said to have been written originally under the name of 
Oldcastle ; some of that family being then remaining, the 
Queen was pleas'd to command him to alter it; upon 
which he made use of Falstaff." The change had been 
made before the play was licensed for publication, Feb- 
ruary 25, 1 597-1 598, for the entry in The Stationers' 
Registers reads "with the conceipted mirthe of Sir John 
Falstaff." Illuminating evidence regarding the change of 
name and contemporary criticism thereon is found irt the 
writings of Thomas Fuller (1 608-1 661) and others. In 
The Church History 0) Britain Fuller speaks with en- 
thusiasm of the change: "Stage-poets have themselves 
been very bold with, and others very merry at the 
memory of Sir John Oldcastle, whom they have fancied 
a boon companion, a jovial royster, and a coward to 
boot. The best is, Sir John Fastolfe hath relieved the 
memory of Sir John Oldcastle, and of late is substituted 
buffoon in his place." Later, in The History of the Worthies 
of England, Fuller condemns the use of the name of the 
historical Sir John Fastolf and comments sarcastically on 
the changed spelling : "To avouch him by many arguments 
valliant is to maintain that the sun is bright, though 
since, the stage has been overbold with his memory, mak- 
ing him a thrasonical puff and emblem of mock valour. 
True it is, Sir John Oldcastle did first bear the brunt, 
being made the makesport in plays for a coward. Now, 
as I am glad that Sir John Oldcastle is put out, so am I 
sorry that Sir John Fastolfe is put in to relieve his 



INTRODUCTION xxi 

memory in this base service, to be the anvil for every dull 
wit to strike upon. Nor is our comedian excusable by 
some alteration of his name, writing him Sir John Falstaff 
(and making him the property and pleasure of King 
Henry V. to abuse) seeing the vicinity of sounds in- 
trench on the memory of that worthy knight, and few 
do heed the inconsiderable difference in spelling." 1 Fuller 
here refers to Sir John Fastolf of Caister (circa i37 8 ~ 
1459), often referred to in The Paston Letters, who like 
Oldcastle was a Lollard and, strangely enough, the owner 
of a Boar's-Head Tavern in Southwark. He won dis- 
tinction in the French wars and was named lieutenant of 
Harfleur under Henry the Fifth. After the defeat at 
Patay he was charged with cowardice and deprived of the 
Garter, but the charge was afterwards disproved and the 
Garter restored. In King Henry the Sixth, Part I, he is 
represented as a coward deserting the post of danger and 
rightfully deprived of his knight's honors and banished. 
Halliwell-Phillipps, in his essay On the Character of Fal- 
staff, quotes from an Oxford scholar, Dr. Richard James, 
who' about 1625, protested that Shakespeare, after of- 
fending Oldcastle's descendants by giving his < buffoon' 
the name of that noble martyr, "was put to make an 
ignorant shift of abusing Sir John Fastolf, a man not 
inferior in vertue, though not so famous .in piety." Simi- 
larly George Daniel, the seventeenth century poet, com- 
plains of the way in which Shakespeare had made use of 
Fastolf's honored name to escape the charge of having 

iln the earlier Quartos Falstaff 's name is usually spelled <Fal- 
stalffe'; the later printings omit the M' in the second syllable. 



xxn THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

slandered the great Lollard martyr. In an interesting 
study called The. Two Sir John Fastolfs, 1 L. W. Ver- 
non Harcourt brought together evidence for another his- 
torical original in Sir John Fastolf of Nacton, who in the 
reign of Henry the Fourth, shortly before the Scrope re- 
bellion of 1405, became involved with the father-in-law 
of Sir John Oldcastle in contempt of court and was com- 
mitted and bound over to keep the peace. Here may be 
historical foundation for the story of Prince Henry's in- 
tervention in behalf of one of his favorites. Evidence is 
abundant that the name of Oldcastle continued to be 
identified with Shakespeare's glorious but somewhat dis- 
reputable knight until well into the seventeenth century. 
In 1 61 8, two years after Shakespeare's death, was pub- 
lished Nathaniel Field's play, Amends for Ladies, in 

which occurs: 

Did you never see 
The Play where the fat knight, hight Oldcastle, 
Did tell you truly what this honour was? 

Here is a transparent allusion to Falstaff's soliloquy in 
Part I, V, i, 127-140. Such a reference as this makes 
it probable, as Halliwell-Phillipps suggested, that in per- 
formances of King Henry the Fourth actors may have 
continued to use the name Oldcastle long after Shake- 
speare had altered it to that of Falstaff. 

1 Published in Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, Lon- 
don, IQIO. 



INTRODUCTION xxm 

II. DATE OF COMPOSITION 

The date of composition of King Henry the Fourth, 
Part I, falls within 1598, the later time limit {terminus 
ante quern), and 1596, the earlier time limit (terminus 
post quern). The weight of evidence is in favor of 1596— 

1597- 

External Evidence 

1. The Stationers' Registers. Andrew Wyse (Wise) , the 
publisher of King Richard the Second and King Richard 
the Third in 1597, obtained on February 25, 1 597-1 598, 
the following license for the publication of King Henry 
the Fourth. The transcription is from The Stationers' 
Registers. 1 

XXV to Hie jFebntatij 

Andrew Wyse Entred for his Copie vnder thandes of Master 
Dix : and master Warden man a booke intitlued 
The historye of Henry the IIIJ™ with his bat- 
taile of Shrewsburye against Henry Hottspurre 
of the Northe with the conceipted mirthe of Sir 
Iohn Ffalstoff vjd. 2 

The play thus entered was issued as a Quarto within 
the year. (See below, Early Editions.) The author's 
name is not given either in the entry or on the title-page 
of the Quarto. 

2. Meres' s Palladis Tamia. Francis Meres mentions 
King Henry the Fourth in the Palladis Tamia, Wits 
Treasury, Being the Second Part of Wits Commonwealth, 

1 Professor E. Arber's Transcripts of The Stationers Registers 
(1554-1640), 4 vols., 1875-1877. 

2 Sixpence. This was the usual price of a Quarto. 



xxiv THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

published in 1598. Meres 's famous list of Shakespeare 
plays in existence at that time is in the following passage : 

As Plautus and Seneca are accounted the best for Comedy and 
Tragedy among the Latines, so Shakespeare among ye English is 
the most excellent in both kinds for the stage : for Comedy, witnes 
his Getleme of Verona, his Errors, his Love labors lost, his Love 
labours wonne, his Midsummers night dreame, & his Merchant of 
Venice : for Tragedy, his Richard the 2, Richard the 3, Henry the 4, 
King lohn, Titus Andronicus, and his Romeo and Iuliet. 

Meres quotes in another part of his book, but without 
acknowledgment, Falstaff's dictum, "There is nothing but 
roguery to be found in villainous man" (II, iv, 123-124). 

Internal Evidence 

1. Allusions within the Play. Among the minor allu- 
sions within the play which investigators have made much 
of as pointing to the earlier time limit given above may 
be mentioned : ( 1 ) I, i, 1-7, where, according to Chalmers, 
is an obvious allusion to England's popular expedition 
against Spain in 1596; (2) II, i, 12-13, wit h a probable 
reference to a much-discussed Proclamation for the Dearth 
of Corn, issued in 1596; and (3) V, iv, 41, where the 
somewhat forced introduction of the epithet 'valiant' may 
be connected with the interest taken in Queen Elizabeth's 
honoring the Shirley family in 1597. 

2. Style and Diction. The sinewy and forceful expres- 
sion in both verse and prose, the quality of the blank 
verse, the free use of prose, the proportion of prose to 
verse, the distinction in the character-drawing through- 
out, and the management of the scenes of broad humor 
strengthen the case for the date of composition suggested 
by the other evidence. 



INTRODUCTION xxv 

III. EARLY EDITIONS 

Quartos 

Few of Shakespeare's plays were printed so soon after 
their first production on the stage as King Henry the 
Fourth, Part I, seems to have been, and only King Richard 
the Third was printed as often during the poet's lifetime. 
Five quarto editions appeared within fifteen years — un- 
mistakable evidence of the popularity of the play. 

i. The First Quarto. King Henry the Fourth, duly 
entered in The Stationers' Registers, was printed for the 
first time in 1598, in the volume which is now called the 
First Quarto, designated in the textual notes of this edi- 
tion as Qi. The First Quarto had the interesting descrip- 
tive title-page which is reproduced as the frontispiece of 
this volume. The text of the First Quarto seems to have 
been printed from authoritative copy, and is in every way 
most satisfactory. 

2. The Second Quarto. In 1599 appeared the Second 
Quarto, Q 2 , a reprint of the First, with a few unimportant 
changes in the text, and the following title-page on which 
Shakespeare's name first appears in connection with the 
play : The | History of | Henrie the | Fovrth ; | With the 
battell at Shrewsburie | betweene the King and Lord 'Henry 
I Percy, surnamed Henry Hot- | spur of the North. | With 
the humorous conceits of Sir \ Iohn Falstalffe. | Newly 
corrected by W. Shakespeare. | At London, Printed by 
S. S. for Andrew Wise, dwelling | in Paules Churchyard, 
at the signe of | the Angell, 1599. | 

3. The Later Quartos. On June 25, 1603, Wyse made 
over his interest in King Henry the Fourth, Part I, to 



xxvi THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

Matthew Law of St. Paul's Churchyard, who brought out 
three new editions in Shakespeare's lifetime, in 1604 (Q 3 ), 
1608 (Q 4 ), 1613 (Q 5 ), respectively, and one in 1622 (Q 6 ), 
six years after the poet's death. Quarto editions of the 
play also appeared in 1632 (Q 7 ) and in 1639 (Q 8 ). Each 
of these Quartos appears to have been printed from its 
predecessor; some contain errors obviously due to hasty 
reprinting, and in all the title-page is substantially the 
same. 

Folios 

Perhaps the most important single volume in all English 
literature is what is now known as the First Folio, pub- 
lished in 1623, seven years after Shakespeare's death, in 
which all his collected plays (with the exception of 
Pericles, first printed with the other plays in the Third 
Folio) were first given to the world. In the First Folio, 
designated in this edition F lf the play with the title, The 
First Part of Henry the Fourth, with the Life and Death 
of Henry Sirnamed Hot-spurre, occupies pages 48-73 in 
the division of the book devoted to the 'Histories,' which 
are arranged in historical sequence from King John to 
King Henry the Eighth. Internal evidence proves that 
the text of the play in the First Folio was set up from a 
partially corrected copy of the Fifth Quarto (Q 5 , 1613). 
"In many places the readings coincide with those of the 
earlier Quartos, which were probably consulted by the 
corrector." — Camb. As the textual notes of this edition 
show, the text of the First Folio omits practically all the 
oaths and asseverations in the play as given in the First 
Quarto (see note, I, ii, 38). 



INTRODUCTION xxvii 

The Second Folio, F 2 (1632), corrects a few manifest 
misprints of the First Folio ; and this corrected text is re- 
peated with few changes, except in the way of slightly 
modernized spelling, in the Third Folio, F 3 (1663, 1664), 1 
and in the Fourth Folio, F 4 (1685). 

Rowe's Editions 

The first critical editor of Shakespeare's plays was 
Nicholas Rowe, poet laureate from 1715 to his death in 
1 7 18. His first edition was issued in 1709 in six octavo 
volumes ; a second edition, in eight volumes, was published 
in 1714. 2 His text followed very closely that of the Fourth 
Folio, but with modernization of spelling, punctuation, 
and occasionally grammar. 

Rowe, an experienced playwright, marked the entrances 
and exits of the characters in a thorough and systematic 
way and introduced many stage directions. He also gave 
complete lists of dramatis personse, which have been the 
basis for all later lists. Rowe was the first man to write 
a life of Shakespeare. This life, in which are preserved 
many valuable traditions, was published along with his 
edition of the plays, and entitles Rowe to the eternal 
gratitude of the world. 3 

!See above, The Name «Falstaff,' page xix, with note. 

2 The Poems were not included in either edition, but were pub- 
lished in 1715 from the edition of 1640. 

3 Earlier efforts towards a biography of Shakespeare were made 
by Fuller in his Worthies (1662), and by Aubrey, the Oxford anti- 
quary, in Lives of Eminent Men, compiled between 1669 and 1696, 
and first printed in Letters from the Bodleian Library (1813). 



XXVlll THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

IV. VERSIFICATION AND DICTION 

Blank Verse 

A little more than half (1622 lines of the total 3170) 
of King Henry the Fourth, Part I, is in blank verse 1 — 
the unrhymed, iambic five-stress (decasyllabic) verse, or 
iambic pentameter, introduced into England from Italy 
by Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, about 1540, and used 
by him in a translation of the second and fourth books of 
Vergil's JEneid. Nicholas Grimald (TotteVs Miscellany, 
1557) employed the measure for the first time in English 
original poetry, and its roots began to strike deep into 
British soil and absorb substance. It is peculiarly signifi- 
cant that Sackville and Norton should have used it as 
the measure of Gorboduc, the first English tragedy (per- 
formed by "the Gentlemen of the Inner Temple" in 1561, 
and first printed in 1565). About the time when Shake- 
speare arrived in London the infinite possibilities of blank 
verse as a vehicle for dramatic poetry and passion were 
being shown by Kyd, and above all by Marlowe. Blank 
verse as used by Shakespeare is really an epitome of the 
development of the measure in connection with the Eng- 
lish drama. In his earlier plays the blank verse is often 
similar to that of Gorboduc. The tendency is to adhere 
to the syllable-counting principle, to make the line the 
unit, the sentence and phrase coinciding with the line 

a The term 'blank verse' was just coming into use in Shakespeare's 
day. It seems to have been used for the first time in literature in 
Nash's Preface to Greene's Menaphon, where we find the expression, 
"the swelling bumbast of bragging blanke verse." Shakespeare uses 
the expression three times, always humorously or satirically (see 
Much Ado About Nothing, V, ii, 32). 



INTRODUCTION xxix 

(end-stopped verse), and to use five perfect iambic feet to 
the line. In plays of the middle period, such as The Mer- 
chant of Venice, King Henry the Fourth, and As You Like 
It, written between 1596 and 1600, the blank verse is 
more like that of Kyd and Marlowe, with less monotonous 
regularity in the structure and an increasing tendency to 
carry on the sense from one line to another without a 
syntactical or rhetorical pause at the end of the line (run- 
on verse, enjambement) . Redundant syllables as a rule 
abound, and the melody is richer and fuller. In Shake- 
speare's later plays the blank verse breaks away from 
bondage to formal line limits and sweeps all with it in 
freedom, power, and organic unity. 

The verse of King Henry the Fourth, Part I, differs in 
one interesting respect from that of Shakespeare's other 
plays of the middle period in that the number of feminine 
(or double, redundant, hypermetrical) endings, as I, i, 22, 
96; iii, 6, 23, 47, etc., is singularly small, the percentage 
of such endings being as low as 5.1, while in Part II it is 
16.3 and rises to 20.5 in King Henry the Fifth. On this 
Professor Herford has based a theory that in King Henry 
the Fourth, Part I, Shakespeare was making experiments 
as to the rhythmical effects of the different forms of blank 
verse. It has also been suggested that this tendency to 
more formal and regular structure may have been in- 
tended to give to the verse something of an epic character. 
End-stopped, normally regular iambic pentameter lines, 
such as I, i, 1, 4, 6, etc., abound, but the metre is every- 
where more flexible and sinewy than in the severely end- 
stopped verses of the earliest plays. Short verses are used 
for interrupted and exclamatory remarks, as in I, i, 76; 



xxx THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

IV, iv, 6, etc., and in such abrupt and broken conversation 
as that between Hotspur and Lady Percy in II, ill, 72-76. 

Alexandrines 

While French prosodists apply the term Alexandrine 
only to a twelve-syllable line with the pause after the 
sixth syllable, as in II, iii, 61, it is generally used in Eng- 
lish to designate iambic six-stress verse, or iambic hexam- 
eter, of which we have examples in IV, iii, 12 ; V, ii, 8, 
etc. The Alexandrine was a favorite Elizabethan measure, 
and it was common in moral plays and the earlier heroic 
drama. English literature has no finer examples of this 
verse than the last line of each stanza of The Faerie 
Queene. In King Henry the Fourth, Part I, are 13 
Alexandrines. 

Rhyme 

In the history of the English drama, rhyme as a vehicle 
of expression precedes blank verse and prose. Miracle 
plays, moral plays, and interludes are all in rhyming 
measures. In Shakespeare may be seen the same develop- 
ment. A progress from more to less rhyme is a sure index 
to his growth as a dramatist and a master of expression. 
In the early Love's Labour's Lost are more than 500 
rhyming five-stress iambic couplets ; in the very late The 
Winter's Tale there is not one. 1 In King Henry the 
Fourth, Part I, rhyme is rare and found only in the five- 
stress iambic couplets, used so frequently in Elizabethan 
plays, to round off a speech or mark an exit. Of these 
rhyming couplets there are 42. 

!The Chorus speech introducing Act IV is excepted as not part 
of the regular dialogue. 



INTRODUCTION xxxi 

Prose 

In the development of the English drama the use of 
prose as a vehicle of expression entitled to equal rights 
with verse was due to Lyly. He was the first to use prose 
with power and distinction in original plays, and did 
memorable service in preparing the way for Shakespeare's 
achievement. Interesting attempts have been made to 
explain Shakespeare's distinctive use of verse and prose ; 
and of recent years there has been much discussion of the 
question "whether we are justified in supposing that 
Shakespeare was guided by any fixed principle in his em- 
ployment of verse and prose, or whether he merely em- 
ployed them, as fancy suggested, for the sake of variety 
and relief." 1 It is a significant fact that in many of his 
earlier plays there is little or no prose, and that the pro- 
portion of prose to blank verse increases with the decrease 
of rhyme. In King Henry the Fourth, Part /, three kinds 
of prose may be distinguished : ( i ) The prose of formal 
documents, as in the letter which Hotspur reads and com- 
ments on at Warkworth Castle (II, iii, 1-34). In Shake- 
speare, prose is the usual medium for letters, proclamations, 
and other formal documents. (2) The prose of Mow life' 
and the speech of humorous characters, as in the tavern 
scenes and all in which Falstaff is the chief figure. This 
is a development of the humorous prose found, for ex- 
ample, in Greene's comedies that deal with country life. 

1 Professor J. Churton Collins's Shakespeare as a Prose Writer. 
See Delius's Die Prosa in Shakespeares Dramen {Shakespeare Jahr- 
buch, V, 227-273); Janssen's Die Prosa in Shakespeares Dramen; 
Professor Hiram Corson's An Introduction to the Study of Shake- 
speare, pages 83-98. 



xxxii THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

(3) The colloquial prose of dialogue and of matter-of- 
fact narrative, as in IV, ii. "Shakespeare was the creator 
of colloquial prose, of the prose most appropriate for 
drama." — Churton Collins. 

Here and there in King Henry the Fourth, Part /, may 
be read the principles which underlie Shakespeare's tran- 
sition from prose to verse and from verse to prose. In 
I, ii, the badinage between Prince Henry and Falstaff and 
the dialogue of information between the prince and Poins 
are naturally in prose, but when the prince is left alone 
his deepest feelings find expression in verse. Similarly, 
in II, iii, the transition from prose to verse takes place 
when Lady Percy enters. 

V. DRAMATIC CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT 

The supreme hero of Shakespeare's ten plays on English 
history is Henry of Monmouth. The three which deal 
with him constitute the great trilogy in the range of 
chronicle drama, and it is peculiarly significant that with 
the development of his dramatic interpretation of this hero 
Shakespeare should have interwoven that of Falstaff, the 
supreme figure in English comedy. Never before in Eng- 
lish drama had been such perfect fusion of the serious and 
the comic as in King Henry the Fourth, and the history 
and the comedy are organically connected through Prince 
Henry. 

Drama, be the outcome tragedy or comedy, deals with 
a conflict between an individual force (which may be 
centered either in one character or in a group of characters 
acting as one) and environing circumstances. In tragedy 
the individual (one person or a group) is overwhelmed; 



INTRODUCTION xxxm 

in comedy the individual triumphs. In both tragedy and 
comedy five stages may be noted in the plot development : 
(i) the exposition, or introduction ; (2) the complication, 
rising action, or growth; (3) the climax, crisis, or turning 
point; (4) the resolution, falling action, or consequence; 
and (5) the denouement, catastrophe, 1 or conclusion. Let 
it not be thought for a moment that each of these stages 
is clearly differentiated. As a rule they pass insensibly 
into each other, as they do in life. 

Analysis by Act and Scene 2 
I. The Exposition, or Introduction (Tying of the Knot) 

Act I, Scene i. The political setting of the play is given in the 
first speech of the king; he tells of the bloody strifes in both foreign 
and civil affairs that have filled the first year of his reign. Percy's 
valor in battle is reported, and from the king we hear of the 
brilliant reputation of this young man in contrast to the boisterous 
and seemingly worthless life of his own son, Prince Henry. 

Act /, Scene it. Prince Henry with Falstaff and other boon 
companions are introduced. The change in diction from the verse 
of the preceding scene to prose here is significant of the change of 
the stage-setting from the palace to the tavern. A robbery is planned, 
but Prince Henry does not consent to join in it till he is assured 
of the fun that is involved in the scheme that Poins has proposed. 

Act I, Scene Hi, 1-124. The king openly reveals his suspicious 
attitude toward the men who helped him to the throne. Through 

1" Catastrophe— the change or revolution which produces the 
conclusion or final event of a dramatic piece."— Johnson. 

2 "It must be understood that a play can be analyzed into very 
different schemes of plot. It must not be thought that one of these 
schemes is right and the rest wrong; but the schemes will be better 
or worse in proportion as— while of course representing correctly 
the facts of the play— they bring out more or less of what ministers 
to our sense of design." — Moulton. 



xxxiv THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

his imperiousness he arouses antagonism in Worcester and Hot- 
spur. This foreshadows the first step in the Falling Action of the 
drama. 

II. The Complication, Rising Action, or Growth (Tying of 
the Knot) 

Act I, Scene Hi, 124-302. Hotspur's personal honor has been of- 
fended by the king's refusal to ransom his wife's brother, whom he 
fears as the rightful heir to the throne. Honor in its varying 
degrees is a prominent theme throughout the play. Percy urges his 
father and uncle to "redeem Your banish'd honours and restore 
yourselves Into the good thoughts of the world again" (lines 180- 
182). He would "pluck bright honour from the pale-fac'd moon, 
Or dive into the bottom of the deep, . . . And pluck up drowned 
honour by the locks" (lines 202-205) provided that he "might wear 
Without corrival all her dignities" (lines 206-207). 

Worcester proposes a scheme of uniting with the Scots and York 
against the king. Hotspur pronounces it a noble plot and consents 
to engage in it, but this willingness to join with the enemies of his 
country and to sacrifice patriotic loyalty to personal honor marks 
the beginning of the complication. The deceitful Worcester with 
whom he now makes alliance appears as an important factor in 
bringing about the dramatic Catastrophe. 

Act II, Scene i. This scene with its realistic presentation of an 
Elizabethan inn yard prepares for the Gadshill robbery. 

Act II, Scene ii. The highwaymen are at work. In accordance 
with their plan Prince Henry and Poins desert Falstaff and his three 
men when the travelers approach but return in disguise and take 
the booty from the thieves. 

Act II, Scene Hi. Hotspur with characteristic disdain for out- 
ward display of tender feeling takes a cold farewell of Lady Kate 
and starts off to meet his allies in the cause against the king. 

Act II, Scene iv. In this, which has been called the most mirth- 
ful scene in the whole sweep of dramatic literature, Falstaff reveals 
his resourcefulness. Here we see the prince in the height of his 
merrymaking among characters of all types, ranging from the 
nimble-witted giant of humor to the blank Francis, whose only 
language is, "Anon, anon." 



INTRODUCTION xxxv 

III. The Climax, Crisis, or Turning Point (the Knot Tied) 

Act III, Scene i. Hotspur, Mortimer, and Glendower have united 
and decide on the division of the country between them. The con- 
trast between the nature of Hotspur and that of Glendower is made 
clear. After taking leave of their wives, Mortimer and Hotspur 
start off to prepare for war. 

IV. The Resolution, Falling Action, or Consequence (the 
Untying of the Knot) 

Act HI, Scene ii. So far Prince Henry has been shown in the 
gay life that gave occasion for his unenviable reputation. From 
now on is revealed his true self, ever great and honorable at the 
core even while he is indulging in the fun at Eastcheap. 

In this important scene Shakespeare reminds us of the central 
forces that determined the character and actions of King Richard 
the Second and of King Henry the Fourth and gives us the secret 
of Prince Henry's fitness to rule. Richard the Second was a senti- 
mentalist, who had no stability to his life. He mingled with the 
common people but for the indulgence of his own selfish feelings; 
he let his worthless flatterers interfere with his reign until they were 
indirectly the cause of his downfall. Bolingbroke was the opposite 
in his make-up — a man of action who could set a goal and reach 
it. Out of policy he kept aloof from the people; but although 
shrewdness and diplomacy may make a politician, they never make 
a great leader of men. In a true ruler there is need of something 
vital and sincere. Shakespeare shows Prince Henry mingling with all 
classes of people, not for self-indulgence, but to satisfy his hunger 
for that which is genuine and real in life. He flees from the polished 
court where all is artificial and unreal to the Eastcheap tavern, 
where the vice is at least frank and genuine. He is more concerned 
with life itself than with the trappings of it. 

Act HI, Scene Hi. A vivid picture of the life at Eastcheap under 
its monarch, Falstaff. The money that had been stolen in a previ- 
ous prank is repaid by the prince. He cares nothing for the super- 
ficial taint to his royal name in having had a share in the robbery, 
for it was the price of "a good jest for ever" (II, ii, 94). The 



xxxvi THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

scene closes with the breaking up of the party to make preparations 
for war. " Prince Henry passes to and fro between the history and 
the comedy, serving as the bond which unites the two." — Dowden. 

Act IV, Scene i. Northumberland intimates that he is ill and can- 
not aid his son in the fight. From now on Hotspur's chances for 
success are constantly decreased. He receives news that the op- 
posing forces, thirty thousand strong, are approaching and again 
that Glendower cannot come for fourteen days. Glorying in the 
greater danger, Hotspur rouses his men to die merrily. 

Act IV, Scene ii. In humorous contrast to the true valor of the 
last scene is this picture of Falstaff with his band of scarecrows 
being urged on to Shrewsbury by Prince Henry and Westmoreland. 

Act IV, Scene Hi. Hotspur is impatient for the battle, while 
Worcester and Vernon try to persuade him to wait until morning. 
The dispute is interrupted by the entrance of Blunt bearing a mes- 
sage from the king. Hotspur explains his cause but withholds his 
answer till morning. 

Act IV, Scene iv. The dramatic Denouement dr Catastrophe is 
foreshadowed in York's fears for Hotspur. 

Act V, Scene i. Worcester and Vernon are sent by Percy to the 
king. Prince Henry magnanimously expresses his admiration for 
Hotspur and, to save blood on either side, challenges him to decide 
the matter in single fight. Here we have the fine distinction between 
his conception of honor and that which ruled Hotspur. Through- 
out the play Hotspur has sacrificed the country's good to personal 
honor. At the crisis Prince Henry shows that a larger spirit and a 
nobler principle rule his life — to save the blood of his countrymen 
he is willing to enter in single contest against this "king of honor." 
King Henry's policy intervenes and terms of reconciliation are of- 
fered. At the close of the scene is revealed the secret of Falstaff's 
attitude toward life. 

Act V, Scene ii. Worcester and Vernon bring back a false re- 
port of the terms offered to Hotspur by the king and so sacrifice 
the common good to their own selfish interests. This is significant 
in the justification of the laws of the drama. The nemesis is 
brought about by the application of the same principle that Hot- 
spur had used to attain his end. "As you mete it out, so shall it 
be meted out unto you." Too late does Hotspur wish that the 



INTRODUCTION xxxvii 

quarrel might rest on his head and Henry Monmouth's alone. 
Dauntless to the end he leads his men unto the field to the cry 
"Esperance, Percy" against his country. 

Act V, Scene in. The battle is on. That the king is not made 
of the finest stuff is apparent from the fact that he sends likenesses 
of himself into the field. Hotspur and Douglas show their wonted 
valor, while Falstaff stands idly by in shelter, for to him honor is 
nothing but air. 

V. The Denouement. Catastrophe, or Conclusion (the Knot 
Untied) 

Act V, Scene iv. King Henry and Douglas fight. The king is in 
danger, Prince Henry enters and fights with Douglas, who in a 
moment flies. The king has evidence of his son's love. Hotspur 
and Prince Henry fight, and Hotspur is killed. Douglas and Fal- 
staff fight, and Falstaff pretends to be killed. This seeming coward- 
ice is relieved by the humor of the situation when Henry leaves 
him lying in the blood of Hotspur, and he dismisses his fear lest 
the "king of honor" might be pretending too, by stabbing the dead 
body. A final assurance of Prince Henry's magnanimous concep- 
tion of honor is shown when he suffers Falstaff to seem the slayer 
of Hotspur. To him the deed was sufficient; he did not need the 
praise. 

Act V, Scene v. Vernon and Worcester are put to death. Prince 
Henry secures the ransom of Douglas, whom he respects for his 
valor. The scene ends in a forward march to meet the other con- 
spiring foes of the king. 

VI. DURATION OF ACTION 

i. Historic Time. The period of time covered by this 
play dates from June 22, 1402, when Glendower defeated 
Mortimer, to the battle of Shrewsbury, July 21, 1403. 

2. Dramatic Time. According to P. A. Daniel 1 the 
dramatic time of King Henry the Fourth, Part /, is made 

1 Transactions of New Shakspere Society, pp. 477-479. 



xxxviii THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

up of ten * historic ' days, with three extra Falstaffian days, 
and intervals, the total dramatic time being three months 
at the outside. The following is Daniel's formal analysis : 



Day i. Act I, Scene i. London. 
News of the battle of Holme- 
don, etc. 

Interval: a week [?]. Hotspur 
comes to Court. 



Day 2. Act 7, Scene Hi. At 
Court. The Percys quarrel 
with the King. Their rebel- 
lion planned. 

Interval: some three or four 
weeks. 



Day 3. Act II, Scene Hi. Wark- 
worth. Hotspur determines to 
set out to join the confederates 
at Bangor. 

Interval: a week. Hotspur and 
Worcester both arrive at Ban- 
gor. 



Day 4. Act III, Scene i. Ban- 
gor. The confederates make 
the final arrangements for 
their outbreak. 

Interval: about a fortnight. 

Day 5. Act III, Scene ii. At 
Court. Prince Hal has an in- 
terview with his father. News 



Act I, Scene ii. Lon- 
don. Falstaff, Prince 
Hal, and Poins. The J>Day 1a. 
robbery at Gadshill 
planned. 



Act II, Scene i. Inn^i 
yard at Rochester. 

Act II, Scene ii. Gads- 
hill. The robbery. 



► Day 2a. 



Act II, Scene iv. The 
Boar's-Head, East- 
cheap. Prince Hal,^ 
Falstaff, etc., at night 
and early morning. 



= Act III, Scene ii. 
At Court. 



Day 3a. 



INTRODUCTION xxxix 

of the insurgents is received. 
This Day 5 is also a continua- 
tion of Day 3a, which com- 
mences in Act II, Scene iv. 

Day 6. Act III, Scene Hi. East- 
cheap. Prince Hal informs 
Falstaff of his appointment to 
a charge of foot for the wars. 
The morrow of Day 5. 

Interval: a week. 

Day 7. Act IV, Scene i. Rebel 
camp near Shrewsbury. 

Interval: a few days. 

Day 8. Act IV, Scene ii. Near 
Coventry. Falstaff with his 
ragged regiment. 

Day 9. Act IV, Scene Hi. The 
rebel camp. Blunt comes with 
offers of peace from the king. 
Act IV, Scene iv. York. The 
Archbishop prepares for the 
good or ill fortune of the 
morrow. 

Day 10. Act V, Scenes i-v. The 
battle of Shrewsbury. 

VII. HISTORICAL CONNECTIONS 

The following table, pages xl and xli, gives the more im- 
portant historical characters of King Henry the Fourth 
and shows in what other plays of Shakespeare they, their 
ancestors, or their descendants are either mentioned or 
appear as dramatis persona?. A study of this table will 
show the significant way in which the ten historical plays, 
dealing with the formative period of England's political 
development, are interrelated. 



xl 



THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 



HISTORICAL 















Edward III 












'327-1377 












H 5 


1 

Edward 


1 
Williarr 


Lionel 




Philippa <■ 


» (3) Catharine Swynford = 


the Black 


d. 1335 


Duke of Clar- 




Roet (?) 




Prince 




ence 
d. 1369 




Geoffrey 




Duke of 


1 


Aquitaine 




= 




Chaucer (?) 


Thomas Ralph Joan 


d. 1376 




(1) Elizabeth 




1 


Beaufort Neville = Beaufort 


H5 




de Burgh 




Thomas 


Earl of Earl of 






1 




Chaucer 


Dorset West- 


Joan of 




Philippa 




= 


Duke of moke- 


Kent (I) the 




= 




Matilda 


Exeter LAND 


Fair Maid 




Edmund 




Burghersh 


d. 1425 d. 1425 






Mortimer 


Michael 






H5 H4 12 H5 


RICHARD II 




Earl of 


de la Pole 








1377-1399 




March 


Earl of 








R2 




1 


Suffolk 








— 




Anne Morti- 


d. 1415 








(1) Anne of 




mer 


H 5 








Bohemia 




(See descend- 


1 








(2) Isabella 




ants of Ed- 


(3) William 








of France 




mund Langley de la Pole 


= 1 


Uice 


= (2) Thomas Montague 


R2 




Duke of York) 


Earl of 
Suffolk 




Earl of Salisbury 
d. 1428 








exc. 1450 
H6i 






H 5 



Signs and Abbreviations in 
the Tables 



Charles de la Bret 

Constable of France 

k.A. 1415 

H5 



1- 



d.= 
exc.= 
k.= 
k.A.= 
R 2 = 
R3 = 
H4 1 - 
H 4 * = 
H6' = 
H6 2 = 
H63 = 
H = = 
Kj = 



direct descent from 

married to 

brother or sister 

brother or sister of the half blood 

died 

executed 

killed 

killed at Agincourt 

one of the dramatis persona? in Richard II 
do. Richard III 

do. 1 Henry IV 

do. 2 Henry IV 

do. / Henry VI 

do. 2 Henry VI 

do. J Henry VI 

do. Henry V 

do. King John 



Italics indicate that the person is only mentioned in 
the play. Numerals in parentheses before a name 
indicate a first, second, or third marriage. Nu- 
merals after a king's reign indicate the dates of 
his reign. 



(2) Owen Tudor = 

Edmund Tudor 

I 

Henry Tudor Earl of Richmond 

HENRY VII TUDOR 

1485-1509 

H6 3 R 3 



INTRODUCTION 



xli 



CONNECTIONS 

= Philippa of Hainault 
I d- 1369 



1 

John of 
Gaunt 
Duke of 
Lancaster 
d. 1399 
R2 

(2) Constance of 

Castile 

(1) Blanche of 

Lancaster 

Chaucer's 

' Duchesse ' ? 

d. 1369 



Henry 

Bolingbroke 

Earl of Derby 

Duke of Hereford 

Duke of Lancaster 

HENRY IV 

LANCASTER 

1399-1413 

R2 H4 13 

(2) Joan of Navarre 

d. 1437 
(i)Maryde Bohun 

d. 1394 



Edmund Langley =(2) Joan of Kent (II) 



Duke of York 

d. 1402 

R2 



■ (1) Isabella of 
Castile, d. 1393 

I 



Duchess of York 
R2 

(3) Henry, 3 Baron 

Scrope of Masham 

Lord Scroop 

exc. 1415 

H 5 



Thomas 

Duke of Gloucester 

d. 1397 



Edward 
Earl of 
Rutland 
Duke of 
Aumerle 
Duke of 

York 
k.A. 1415 
R2 H5 



Richard 

Earl of 

Cambridge 

exc. 1415 

H S 

Anne 
Mortimer 

I 

Richard 

Plantagenet 

Duke of 

York 

d. 1460 

H6 123 



Constance 

Thomas 

Despenser 

d. 1400 

Isabella. 

Richard 

Beauchamp 

Earl of 

Warwick 

d. 1439 

H 5 



I 
EDWARD IV 
1461-1483 
R 3 H6 2 * 

Elisabeth 
R3 



Edmund 

Earl of 

Rutland 

H63 



I 

George 

Dukeof 

Clarence 

d. 1479 

H6 3 R3 



RICHARD III 

1483-1485 
H623 R3 



Edward of Wales 
EDWARD V 
R3 



Richard 

Duke of York 

R3 



Thomas 
Duke of 



Henry of 
Monmouth 

' Prince Hal' Clarence 
Duke of Lancaster v . .,. 
HENRY V H>//j 

1413-1422 
H 4 HS 

KATHARINE 

OF FRANCE 

d. 1437 

I s 

HENRY VI 

1422-1471 

H6 123 



John 

Duke of 

Bedford 

Regent of 

France 

d- 1435 . 

H 4 H 5 H6 1 



Humphrey 

' Good Duke 

Humphrey' 

Duke of 

Gloucester 

d. 1447 
H4 1 H 5 H6« 



xlii THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

VIII. THE CHARACTERS 
The King 

The character of King Henry the Fourth in this play 
is a natural development of his character as Bolingbroke 
in King Richard the Second. Shakespeare gives at full 
length and done to the life the portrait of a man in act 
prompt, bold, decisive, in thought sly, subtle, far-reaching ; 
a character hard and cold indeed to the feelings, but 
written all over with success ; a character that has no im- 
pulsive gushes or starts, but is an embodiment of study, 
forecast, and calm suiting of means to preappointed ends. 
And this perfect self-command is in great part the secret 
of his strange power over others, making them almost as 
pliant to his purposes as are the cords and muscles of his 
own body; so that, as the event proves, he grows great by 
their feeding, till he can compass food enough without 
their help, and, if they go to hindering him, can eat them 
up. For so it turned out with the Percys ; strong sinews 
indeed with him for a head ; while, against him, their very 
strength served but to work their own overthrow. 

Some points of this description are well illustrated in 
what Hotspur says of him just before the battle of Shrews- 
bury, in the speech beginning (IV, hi, 52-53): 

The king is kind ; and well we know the king 
Knows at what time to promise, when to pay. 

Hotspur, to be sure, exaggerates a good deal here, as he 
does everywhere, still his charges have a considerable basis 
of truth. As further matter to the point, observe the ac- 
count which the king gives of himself when remonstrating 
with the prince against his idle courses ; which is not less 



INTRODUCTION xliii 

admirable for truth of history than for skill of pencil. 
Equally fine, also, is the account of his predecessor im- 
mediately following that of himself, where we see that he 
has the same sharp insight of men as of means and has 
made Richard's follies and vices his tutors ; from his mis- 
carriages learning how to supplant him, and perhaps en- 
couraging his errors, that he might make a ladder of them 
to mount up and overtop him. 

Though policy is the leading trait in this able man, it 
is not so prominent as to obscure other and better traits. 
Even in his policy there is much of the breadth and large- 
ness which distinguish the statesman from the politician. 

Hotspur 

Hotspur is as much a monarch in his sphere as King 
Henry and Falstaff are in theirs ; only they rule more by 
power, he by stress : there is something in them that takes 
away the will and spirit of resistance; he makes every- 
thing bend to his arrogant, domineering, capricious temper. 
Who that has been with him in the scenes at the Palace 
and at Bangor can forget his bounding, sarcastic, over- 
bearing spirit? He is irascible, headstrong, impatient; 
every effort to arrest or divert him only produces a new 
impatience. Whatever thought strikes him, it forthwith 
kindles into an overmastering passion that bears down all 
before it. He has a rough and passionate soul, great 
strength and elevation of mind, with little gentleness and 
less delicacy, and a M force of will that rises into poetry by 
its own chafings." His contempt of poetry is highly char- 
acteristic; though it is significant that he speaks more 
poetry than anyone else in the play. But poetry is alto- 



xliv THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

gether an impulse with him, not a purpose, as it is with 
Glendower; and he loses all thought of himself and his 
speech, in the intensity of passion with which he contem- 
plates the object or occasion that moves him. 

Glendower 

The best of historical matter for poetical and dramatic 
uses has seldom been turned to better account than in the 
portrait of Glendower. He is represented, with great art 
and equal truth, according to the superstitious belief of his 
time ; a belief in which he himself doubtless shared : for, 
if the winds and tempests came when he wished them, it 
was natural for him to think, as others thought, that they 
came because he wished them. A man of wild and mys- 
terious imaginations, he has a practical skill that makes 
them tell against the king ; his dealing in magic rendering 
him even more an object of fear than his valor and con- 
duct. And his behavior in the disputes with Hotspur 
approves him as much superior in the external qualities 
of a gentleman as he is more superstitious. Though no 
suspicion of anything false or mean can attach to Hot- 
spur, it is characteristic of him to indulge his haughty 
temper even to the thwarting of his purpose: he will 
hazard the blowing up of the conspiracy rather than put 
a bridle on his impatience ; and this the Welshman, with 
all his grandeur and earnestness of pretension, is too 

prudent to do. 

The Prince 

Shakespeare brings what the old chroniclers describe as 
a miracle of grace in the conversion of Prince Henry from 
being an idler and a libertine into a wise and noble leader, 



INTRODUCTION xlv 

within the ordinary rules of character development. He 
represents the changes as taking place by the methods and 
proportions of nature. His early "addiction to courses 
vain" is accounted for by the character of Falstaff, it 
being no impeachment of his intellectual or moral man- 
hood that he is drawn away by such a mighty magazine 
of fascinations. It is true, he is not altogether unhurt by 
his connection with Sir John; he is himself sensible of 
this, and the knowledge goes far to justify his final treat- 
ment of Falstaff. But, even in his wildest merrymakings, 
there may still be tasted in him a spice and flavor of 
manly rectitude; undesigned by him indeed, and the 
more assuring that he evidently does not taste it himself. 
Shakespeare has nothing finer in its way than the gradual 
sundering of the ties that bind the prince to Falstaff, as 
the higher elements of his nature are called forth by 
emergent occasions ; and his turning the dregs of unworthy 
companionship into food of noble thought and sentiment. 
His whole progress through this transformation, till "like 
a reappearing star" he emerges from the cloud of wildness 
wherein he had obscured his contemplation, is dappled 
with rare spots of beauty and promise. 

The king displays his usual astuteness in endeavoring 
to make the fame of Hotspur tell upon the prince ; though 
he still strikes wide of his real character, misderiving his 
conduct from a want of noble aptitudes, whereas it springs 
rather from a lack of such motives and occasions with 
which his better aptitudes can combine. But the king 
knows right well there is matter in him that will take fire 
when such sparks are struck into it. Accordingly, before 
they part, the prince speaks such words, and in such a 



xlvi THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

spirit, as to win his father's confidence; the emulation 
kindled in him being no less noble than the object of it. 
Now it is that his many-sided, harmonious manhood be- 
gins fully to unfold itself. He has already discovered 
forces answering to all the attractions of Falstaff ; and it 
is to be hoped that none will think the worse of him for 
preferring the climate of Eastcheap to that of the Court. 
But the issue proves that he has far better forces, which 
sleep indeed during the absence, but spring forth at the 
coming, of their proper stimulants and opportunities. In 
the close-thronging dangers that beset his father's throne 
he has noble work to do ; in the thick-clustering honors 
of Hotspur, noble motives for doing it ; and the two to- 
gether furnish those more congenial attractions whereby 
he is gradually detached from a life of hunt-sport and 
drawn up into the nobly proportioned beauty with which 
both poetry and history have invested him. 

Falstaff 

Falstaff is the character in the mighty world of Shake- 
speare's creations who has received most attention at the 
hands of the master. Falstaff dominates both parts of 
King Henry the Fourth] he is the hero of The Merry 
Wives of Windsor ; Dame Quickly's account of his death 
is the most impressive passage in King Henry the Fifth. 
Little wonder that he is universally recognized as the most 
humorous creation in all literature. His character baffles 
definition. He has so much, or is so much, that it is not 
easy to tell what he is. Diverse and even opposite qual- 
ities meet in him; yet they poise so evenly, blend so 
happily, and work together so smoothly, that no general- 



INTRODUCTION xlvii 

ities can set him off ; in any attempt to grasp him in a 
formal conclusion, the best part of him still escapes be- 
tween the fingers. One of the wittiest of men, he is not 
a wit; one of the most sensual of men, he cannot with 
strict justice be called a sensualist ; he has a strong sense 
of danger and a lively regard to his own safety, a peculiar 
vein indeed of cowardice, or something very like it, yet 
he is not a coward ; he lies and brags prodigiously, still 
he is neither a liar nor a braggart. 

One thing specially characteristic of Falstaff is an 
amazing fund of good sense. His stock of this, to be sure, 
is pretty much all enlisted in the service of sensuality, yet 
in such a way that the servant still overpeers and outshines 
the master. His thinking has such agility, and is at the 
same time so pertinent, as to do the work of the most 
prompt and sparkling wit ; yet in such sort as to give the 
impression of something much larger and stronger than 
wit. For mere wit, be it ever so good, requires to be spar- 
ingly used, and the more it tickles the sooner it tires ; like 
salt, it is grateful as a seasoning but will not do as food. 

Never at a loss, and never apprehensive that he shall 
be at a loss, Falstaff never exerts himself, nor takes any 
concern for the result ; so that nothing is strained or far- 
fetched: relying calmly on his strength, he invites the 
toughest trials, as knowing that his powers will bring him 
off without any using of the whip or the spur, and by 
merely giving the rein to their natural briskness and celer- 
ity. Hence it is also that he so often lets go all regard to 
prudence of speech and thrusts himself into tight places 
and predicaments: he thus makes or seeks occasions to 
exercise his fertility and alertness of thought, being well 



xlviii THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

assured that he shall still come off uncornered, and that 
the greater his seeming perplexity, the greater will be his 
triumph. He tells his incomprehensible lies, surely, not 
expecting them to be believed, but partly for the pleasure 
he takes in the excited play of his faculties, partly for the 
surprise he causes by his still more incomprehensible feats 
of dodging. He has an eternal joy in what Robert Louis 
Stevenson has called the deepest imaginative pleasure of 
life and what every healthy child revels in — egregious 
make-believe. 

Falstaff's overflowing humor results in a placid good 
nature towards those about him, and attaches them by the 
mere remembrance of pleasure in his company. He often 
abuses his associates outrageously, so far as this can be 
done by words, but they are not really hurt by it and 
never think of resenting it. Perhaps, indeed, they do not 
respect him enough to feel resentment towards him. But, 
in truth, the juiciness of his spirit not only keeps malice 
out of him, but keeps others from imputing it to him. His 
tempests of abuse break on himself as often as on others 
and mean just as much in the one case as in the other: 
they are but exercises of his powers, and this, merely for 
the exercise itself ; that is, they are play, having indeed a 
kind of earnestness, but the earnestness of sport. Whether 
alone or in company, he not only has all his faculties about 
him, but takes the same pleasure in exerting them, if it 
may be called exertion ; for they always seem to go of their 
own accord. It is remarkable that Falstaff soliloquizes 
more than any of Shakespeare's characters except Hamlet ; 
thought being equally an ever-springing impulse in them 
both, though in very different forms. 



INTRODUCTION xlix 

It is also of interest and significance that throughout the 
plays in which he is a dominant figure, his speeches con- 
tain more allusions to Bible story and doctrine than may 
be found in the speeches of any other Shakespeare char- 
acter. Most of these allusions are far from being irrever- 
ent and cannot be construed as anti-Puritan. In this 
connection some words in the hostess's story of his death 
(King Henry the Fifth, II, iii) may be remembered: 

. . .he's in Arthur's bosom, if ever man went to Arthur's bosom. 
A made a finer end, and went away and it had been any christom 
child ; a parted ev'n just between twelve and one, ev'n at the turn- 
ing o' th' tide : for after I saw him fumble with the sheets and 
play with flowers, and smile upon his fingers' ends, I knew there 
was but one way; for his nose was as sharp as a pen, and a 
babbled of green fields. 

IX. STAGE HISTORY 

The immediate popularity of King Henry the Fourth 
is attested by the numerous references to it by Shake- 
speare's contemporaries, their imitations of it, and the fact 
that it was printed at least five times before the author's 
death. From the first Falstaff was acclaimed as the great 
stage character of the play. In Ben Jonson's Every Man 
out of his Humour, performed in 1599, Falstaff was 
alluded to as a recognized character type ; and there is in- 
teresting proof of the vogue of the fat knight in the well- 
authenticated tradition that The Merry Wives of Windsor 
was written at the request of Queen Elizabeth, who was so 
delighted with the character as portrayed in King Henry 
the Fourth that she wished to see a play in which he 
would be the hero and the hero in love. John Lowin 



1 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

( 1 576-1 659), whose name appears in the First Folio as 
one of the "Principal Actors/' and who certainly was the 
most famous Falstaff in the reign of Charles the First, is 
often credited with being the original interpreter of the 
part, but a comparison of dates makes this conclusion im- 
probable. Malone gave the distinction of being the origi- 
nal Falstaff to John Heminge, who with Henry Condell 
signed "The Epistle Dedicatorie" of the First Folio. In 
a memorandum supposed to be by Inigo Jones, for the 
costume of a personage in a court masque, performed early 
in the reign of James the First, is this description of what 
was probably the costume of the character in Shake- 
speare's own day : "Like a Sir John Falstaffe, in a robe of 
russet, quite low, with a great belly, like a swollen man, 
long moustachios, the shoes short, and out of them great 
toes, like naked feet : buskins, to show a great swollen leg." 

The Seventeenth Century 

A version of King Henry the Fourth, under the title of 
Hotspur, was acted before King James in 16 13. This per- 
formance, it may be surmised from the title, put emphasis 
upon the gallant chieftain of the north, as was but natural 
when the play was given in the presence of England's first 
king from Scotland. Lowin continued to be identified with 
the part of Falstaff until 1647, when the Puritans closed 
the theatres. There is a tradition that after this he kept 
an inn, The Three Pigeons at Brentford, and would often 
recite Falstaff's speeches to regale his customers. Another 
tradition, well authenticated, tells of his surviving the 
Restoration and instructing the great Shakespearian actor, 
Betterton, in stage business which he had learned in the 



INTRODUCTION H 

spacious times when Shakespeare himself trod the boards. 
An abridgment of King Henry the Fourth, Part I, based 
on the Falstaff scenes, was published under the title of 
The Bouncing Knight in Francis Kirkman's Wits or Sport 
upon Sport (1662), and professed to be a version per- 
formed surreptitiously when the Puritans were in power. 

After the Restoration, King Henry the Fourth, Part I, 
seems to have been popular on the stage. The first repre- 
sentative of Falstaff on the re-opening of the theatres 
was one Cartwright, who had been a bookseller in Holborn. 
Pepys has several references to the play which he saw for 
the first time on the last night of the year, 1660. He says 
that he had bought a book of the play and wished to see 
it acted, "but my expectation being too great, it did not 
please me, as otherwise I believe it would : and my having 
a book I believe did spoil it a little." Seven years later 
he saw the play again and comments on it and the au- 
dience characteristically : 

To the King's playhouse and there saw Henry the Fourth ; and, 
contrary to expectation, was pleased in nothing more than in Cart- 
wright's speaking of Falstaff 's speech about "What is Honour?' 
The house full of Parliament-men, it being holyday with them : 
and it was observable how a gentleman of good habit sitting just 
before us, eating of some fruit in the midst of the play, did drop 
down as dead, being choked; but with much ado Orange Mall did 
thrust her finger down his throat, and brought him to life again. 

Thomas Betterton (1635-1710), the great Shakespeare 
actor of the Restoration, in his younger days played Hot- 
spur with distinction, and his contemporary Colley Cibber 
describes the "wild impatient starts, that fierce and flash- 
ing fire," which he threw into the part. 



Hi THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

The Eighteenth Century 

In 1700 Betterton, finding himself too old to take the 
part of Hotspur, exchanged it for that of Falstaff and won 
the supreme success of his career, acting in both parts of 
King Henry the Fourth and in The Merry Wives of Wind- 
sor. His Falstaff is said to have been influenced by the 
1 business' of a Dublin actor called Baker, who from being 
a master-paver took to play-acting and became noted for 
such comedy parts as Sir Epicure Mammon (Ben Jonson's 
The Alchemist) and Falstaff. Genest in his Account of 
the English Stage mentions among the Falstaffs, from 1700 
to 1775, Estcourt, Harper, Jack Evans, Powell, Booth, 
Bullock, Hall, and Mills. Perhaps the most notable per- 
formance of the play in these years was given at Covent 
Garden, December 6, 1746, when David Garrick played 
Hotspur to the Falstaff of James Quin, who had come to 
be recognized as the supreme interpreter of the part. The 
last noteworthy Falstaff of the eighteenth century was 
Henderson, who excelled particularly in the soliloquy in 
which Falstaff describes his ragged recruits. 

The Nineteenth Century 

In 1 802-1 803 the play, revised for stage purposes, was 
produced by the Kembles at Covent Garden, with John 
Philip Kemble himself as Hotspur. At later performances 
Fawcett, Dowton, Stephen Kemble, and even Charles 
Kemble, known as "the elegant," all essayed the part of 
Falstaff. Elliston's Falstaff and Macready's Hotspur were 
the features of a famous performance at Drury Lane in 
1826; and a quarter of a century later, at the Princess's 
Theatre, when Bartley, who had become known as a most 



INTRODUCTION liii 

unctuous and humorous impersonator of the fat knight, 
took his leave of the stage, Charles Kean was Hotspur. 
America gave the world a most noteworthy Falstaff in the 
interpretation by James Henry Hackett, who was identi- 
fied with the part from 1832 to 1872. More recent years 
have seen noteworthy revivals of King Henry the Fourth 
under the direction of Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and Sir 
Frank R. Benson, and the play is one of those staged with 
success at the annual Shakespeare Festivals at Stratford- 
on-Avon. 



AUTHORITIES 

(With the more important abbreviations used in the notes) 

Q l = First Quarto, 1598. 
Q o = Second Quarto, 1599. 
Q~ = Third Quarto, 1604. 
Q 4 = Fourth Quarto, 1608. 
Q 5 = Fifth Quarto, 1613. 
Qq = all the Quartos given above. 
F x = First Folio, 1623. 
F 2 = Second Folio, 1632. 
F 3 = Third Folio, 1664. 
F = Fourth Folio, 1685. 
Ff = all the seventeenth century Folios. 
Rowe = Rowe's editions, 1709, 1714. 
Pope = Pope's editions, 1723, i7 2 8. 
Theobald = Theobald's editions, i733> 1740. 
Hanmer = Hanmer's edition, 1744. 
Johnson = Johnson's edition, 1765. 

Capell = Capell's edition, 1768. 
Malone = Malone's edition, 1790. 
Steevens = Steevens's edition, 1793. 

Globe = Globe edition (Clark and Wright), 1864. 
Clar = Clarendon Press edition (W. A. Wright) . 
Dyce = Dyce's (third) edition, 1875. 
Delius = Delius's (fifth) edition, 1882. 
Camb = Cambridge (third) edition (W. A. Wright), 1891. 
Herford= C. H. Herford's The Eversley Shakespeare, 1903. 
Abbott = E. A. Abbott's A Shakespearian Grammar. 
Cotgrave = Cotgrave's Dictionarie of the French and English 

Tongues, 161 1. 
Schmidt = Schmidt's Shakespeare Lexicon. 

Skeat = Skeat's An Etymological Dictionary. 
Murray = A New English Dictionary (The Oxford Dictionary). 
Century = The Century Dictionary. 
Holinshed = Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Ireland, 
and Scotland (second edition), 1586-1587. 
Scot = Reginald Scot's The Discoverie of Witchcraft, 1584. 
lv 



as 

Ox 

<: 

OS 


o 

5 


.2. -2 c 

-5 « o 

^ 2 o 


u <u 
> c 

'33 

>*H ° 

^ S <o 


.2 


; a prisoner 
. Ascham 
rdale died, 
ds War of 


^ ° 


B 


-Q 

a 


01 

■•" to 

11 c 


<D ret ^ 

2 c 


e " opened 
y Fields, 
llowed by 
in." Hans 


S 

3 
U 

2^ 


a 

< 






o o .-a C 


7 « 


O B 




u ~ o m 

sill's 


"3 ^ 


> 

O 
H 


J= > c 

|<3l 




gco 


b| 






H c ° m to 
- 1 - o M r; 




g33 


3 




^^ 


1) Q 


|i 




H.SJ: c^ 


2g 


H 

< a 


, 


to 


M 


• o 10 


to 




CO 


CO to 


BB 

■a.& 

o 3 
o [3 


CO 


2 

a 

co 


"s 
o 

O U 
£ B 


a> 
+j 
co 

o 
Q 

(U 

o . 
«£ 

3'^ 


-3 e 

* s 3 


CO 

B 


nl 


cu 

2 

CO 


© ._ 

0° a 

<u cu g 
C CL) > 


45 

s 




KM 

"3 




cu 
i-i 
> 

+J CD 

3 2 

3 bj 


■go 




«>7 
?| 

o Ji 

IB 


a 

a 
< 

"o 


a -a 

o^ 

Is 


CO W CO 

'-3 -3 


O 

to 
73 

cu 

to 

'o 


O 


CO 


P 


H 


o 


H 


8* 


o 


H 










M «) ^ifl" O "it! «i I « 












c^-tiE5552c?u^S-b 












lcg.8|*g^|g c s; 












"" Ml Ml « i!o''!iS? 1 ''^ 
■£ B 3*]3 £ji •- '" ^ <D '3 






ui 










j 






~«~.--q£ .2 s~^a g 






o. 






^u^2B g .s-a|S^' Q a 

lii.H.3gll2ll2 




< 
w 

Oh 










UJ 








s 




< 








o 




33 
en 








z 






to 
S 
Hi 
o 


US 
.12 tJ 


B 
| 

2 


B 
K 

o 








G 
O 






'-3 
3 




Ph 






££-*« 






<5 






G 




> 

(Li 
< 




s 

CJ 

X 


XI 

b 


to D - *- 

1 - c iS 






J3 






<B 







.co 


CU 


-B 


rB *" 3 ° 






4) 






1-. CU 
cu-rj 




5 


t. ^o 


2 


^^O^ 






o 






33 






m N 


h 


M 


|X4 






P3 






u* 




ID 
IO 


IT) 

ID 

IO 


IO 
IO 


00 

to 


in 


CO 

IO 


IT) 


to VO 
m to 


to 

M 


> 








1 M 

















lvi 



J Ol 

u c 

Ol O 

— 3fe 
O O.^ 

c 9 ** 


&=3 

•eg 
4{ ° 

c • 
o.S2 


a 
o 

£o> 

ri g 

Qg 
a 

■s-s 

t: c 


l/l 

3 

CJ 

oi 
•o 

ri 

E'S 
o> -a 


XI 

3 

XS 
3 (J 

*2 


•w o) 

— e 
.- ri 

r-TJ <U 

III 

£ 3H 


•3 

C 

o 


T3 

Ol 

J2 

Ol 

G 
•a 
C/5 

.2* 
15 

Ph 

c/5 


o 

c 
.2 
3 i2 

O O 


<< 

'a 

n 
a 

o 


S V) 

2.2 

> '■£ 

rt oi <5 

one 

C oi 

« o^3 


> 

'o 


e 

o 

Xi 
-^! 

cu 


Gosson's School of 
Abuse. North's Plu- 
tarch. Lyly'sEuphues 
(pt. i). Spenser's 
Shepherd's Calendar 


to 

03 
CO 

w 

, WJ 'e' 

01 _0 
rt U 

s 


a 
a 

to 

4) 

2.S 

to- 

.3 


10 

01 

H 

tu 

s 

04 S 
„ S 


CO 

tu 

> 

'3 

CO 

'a 

H 

ri 

O 


a> q 

to a 
* a 

as 

."•"cu ccj 


o 
o 

■M 
CO 

Oh 

y 

.S'o 

o 


•2 

a 

a 
W 

e 

ri 

u 


P 3 c 

— ■ to.S 
-* ojO O- 


CO 

cd^ 

*■§. 

a. 


o 

w CO 

el 

la 

■" a 

3 M 

Oh 


fl HI 1 fl 

H agoo 

Ol O'-" V5 

S • <u oi'>, 

5<U-jh M? 


cd 5.2 

O ns O 

^ 1 


ir. 

a 

a 
a 
o 
< 






in 

W 

K 

O 
H 

s 




a a 

CD CD 

WW 


tn 

W 

5 
w 
S 
o 

V 


CO 

XI 

co^" 

3^ 


w 





T3 

m 
ho 

0) 

-a 

•3 

c 
c 

<^ 

o> bjj 
to '5 
35 


a 

5 
x> 

C 
S 

■a 

w 

Xi 

2 
w 




X! 

s 

c 
< 

ri § 


c 

o 

X) 

rt 
C 
3 

In 

1) 

-C 
fcJO 
3 
rt 






Ol 

ri 

a 
1% 

2-° 

JS xi 

I* 


o 

-4 



s 

XI c 






' 








lO 


o3 

lO 


CO 

in 


CO 
00 

in 


U1 


IT) 

00 


•o 

CO 

in 


00 


00 
00 




8, 


o» 



lvii 



> 

s 

0. 

< 

K 
O 

o 

£ 

Q 

z 

< 
> 

« 

o 

h 
CO 


«J </> ., 

.11 1 

S o m 

'^^^ 
g-og 

U.S.S 


r 

<D 

X< 
1) 

w 

.22 

•3 

% 

o a 

isi 


te 

a 
u 

c 

Ph.22 

; *a 

rt" 
|| 

*rt S 


asso died. Sir Walter 
Raleigh's expedition 
to Guiana. Sir J. Haw- 
kins died 


urbage built Black- 
friar's Theatre. Des- 
cartes born. Sir F. 
Drake died 


d 

.2 

1- 

G 
O 

H 


o 

w 

4J 

o> 

0) q 


So 

• . c 
.2 3xi 

T3X3;-. 

Sis 

ahU 


o 

c 

2 

M 

e 

o 

c 




£ 


O 


2 


P* 


H 


pq 


H 


P-. 


CO 







co 




i 


i 


i 


•M 1 


1 1 1) 


eu to a> 




w 

K 

D 


J?"rt 
^2 


oj o 

fe a 

- a 

WW 

1/1 "cO 

- <u 

0) C 


+J 

CO 






CO —1 






a 
o 
o 

« 

« 

09 

a 
5 


§2 

< W 

M 5 




a 

10 °< 

c2' w 


►■2 

■^ 0) 

<« a 

T,^ rt 
<u rt rt 


II 

S.2> 

« o> J. 
>>co ° 


>»^ 
^-^ 

W .§ 

o.t: a 

o T3 4J 
rt aj>0 
P9 


t3 rt i— 1 ^ 

Si - 

CO &.J/1 

"io , ^"a 

5J rt I- 6j0 


*£5 
a 5J 

C >-"d 

< 


X 

o 


'c rt 


1> rt 


rt O ° 




w 






fl^ 


1 •-v 






















2s 




















«J " 


-o 5? 




















oS 


a« 




















cd+j 


to co 

3 3 




















©"3 


•^.2 




















or 


H fl 
















,2 


si 


ge 










1 








a 


s« 


fl 1- * 






>W 












c 


*■"' CO 


O i_ 






1-1 n'o 




► 






w 
04 
< 

w 

[1, 

CO 

w 
< 

en 


>• 

< 

(/) 
S 

H 


2^ 

■2 ^?£ 












b 

« 

H 






a,^ 

ag 
ag 




t3 +J ^0 


rt-«ja 

to"° g £ 

- flrt.3 

SWEH«3 
<3 




Olio 

<U.rt 

tOfeS fl 


1? 

a*. 


o 


■•-> 

XI 

o 


■2*- 


CO 1 

o « 


c 

.2 




rt J, 

fe rt 
o 




•" rt 


D CO 1 

3J!1 


'3 

CO 






Oh 

(* 

I 

< 

K 

C 


5 


£ja 
rt ti 

SS 

« 2 
u 


■0-2 
g'fj 

a <u-t^ 

4> w vO 


T5 

> 

SCO- 
° 1 

<U V 

o s; 


S o 

c *• 
o 

(U % 

rt u w 


o:t3 rt 


M O 

rt tj 

■si 

3 co 


ib 3 

rt«| 

to C w 

Js£.S 


"S • -fib 

rtH Wrt 


c 
o 

73 

c 
o 

hJ 

rt 

C 

o 
> 






O 


> W 


^ 


> 


CO 


a. 


CO Hn 




OS 

< 


en 


ro 


s 


Ol 


"g. 




00 a> 

o» en 


8 


> 


i 


lO 


m 


«o 


m 


io 




lO 


in 


to 



lviii 



Fa 

> rt 

^ o 

.2 §2 


re 


1) 

^ c 

.2 

X> <u 
rtpL, 


CU 

a 

o 
U 

o 


,*« c 

CO 3 

c.o 


.2 

a 
o 
U 


CO 

a> 

£ 

CD 


u 

4) 

3 

a 
a 


en 
B 

to 

s 


CU 

u 

la 
cU 

ft) 

wo 


M 
3 
J3 

a, 
og 

<!| 

bjCO 

3w 

> o 


•a 

cu 

E 

3 
J3 
cu 


ied. Beau- 
Baffin ex- 
ffin's Bay. 
tured on the 
of the blood 


a j 2 
>C rt 

4) C >, 
to cu o 


C 
... ^ 




c 
o 


•a w 




a 

u 

E 




CU 

> rt 

1-1 .£ 


re 


*ci CO cu S 
« <" ~.2 
2^3 <« >>ti 


~-Q re 


o o 


a; L^ 
5,^ 


h 


o £ 

O. O 






0*2 

rs o 


2 ** 
<u.5 


C w 


,?3 


CU 


S £a33-5 


H 


M** 


a 


33 u 


J 


CO ~ 


S^ 


CO 


a 


o 


CJ 




, 




CO 




M 


^0 


«jfl 


1 


t3 


-^<U 




01 O r W H '•"> 


hi 

<U 

CO 

(2 


o 

CO 

co 


CO 

a 

a? 
CO 


(0 
CfJ 

en 'a* 


<u 
o 

X 


3S 

<u 

a 

o 

S 

13 

5 Q 


c5 ^ 


III 

x« c 


0) 

H 

o 

'(3 

3 


ctl 

o 

£•2 


^1 
si 

^2'3 
pq ,«) 

co "cu 

cu G 

Abo! 


a 

o 
o 

>> 

s 

CO 


"5-t »3 c "cu c^ 
.-.be uj bo^ 

1-1 fl <- rt 


"e 
o 

c 
o 

•— 1 


Si 


« 
"c 

o 

c 

o 




'3 
© 
a 

o 






O 

c 

1) <0 


CO 


o 


ikl ^ 

s > . a <u co 

reft uPhh} 












So" 


s 


-o 












M 


CO 

o 











cu 


a 












\0 

■»-» 

a> 




o 




h-1 


< 

o 


O S 1 


CO 

3 












a 

5 




© 


.o. 

o 

crj 


12 


o 

a 


^S 

s 5 


o 

o 
o 


























































> 


























d 

CD 
























w 








, 


h 
























co 


o 








^ 






«> 




































o 










O 






73 co 










s? 


a> 








vD 




a 


. w a 

>-. CU 










J* 


CO CO 
crj * 








CD 
O 




a3 

^3 










£C0 


2g 








a. 




a 

o 


a co 

5S 






8 

.a 

CU 

_ a 

.2 -a 

-a a 


2 

co 

m 

oS 

„, to 
re rt 


03 

■a 

D 

i § 
II 


u 
CO 

rt 
to 
u 

W) 

o 


£ 
.8 

% 
o 

c 

l> G 
11 


a 

"So 

>-. 


s 

d 

c 

Is 

la 


£ 13 5 

— ICO 


CO 

u 

CU 

> 

o 

<t> a. 


CU 
CU 

o 

a 

cu 

CO 

x 2 


cu ' 
O 

J) a, 


C s :'0 

-a u t3 
c „, 

O „T3 

- *•& 

2 « « 
<" 3"S 


1- CO f»> 

D rt N 

!reO£ 

^•§c>> 


£ 3 


3 ° 

On 


.!2 3 

33~ 


32 
CO 


CS 


bA 3 


rt-2 

Q 1 " 


■5^ £ 


OCJ 
09 




to JS 
CO 


^o2 




1 


M 

S 


CO 

o 
to 


to 


1 


to 
o 

VO 


o 

to 


1 


to 


o 
to 


CO 




(O 

to 



lix 



DISTRIBUTION OF CHARACTERS 

In this analysis are shown the acts and scenes in which the char- 
acters (see Dramatis Persona?, page 2) appear, with the number of 
speeches and lines given to each. 

Note. Parts of lines are counted as whole lines. 







NO. OF 


NO. OF 






NO. OF 


NO. OF 






SPEECHES 


LINES 






SPEECHES 


LINES 


King 


I,i 


5 


74 


Worcester 


I, iii 


15 


63 




I,iii 


4 


45 




III, i 


2 


! 9 




III, ii 


5 


125 




IV, i 


5 


21 




V, i 


6 


47 




IV, iii 


3 


5 




V, iv 


6 


'9 




V, i 


2 


47 




V, v 


-A 


25 




V, ii 


6 


34 






3° 


335 




V, v 


1 
34 


3 

192 


Prince 


I, ii 


29 


79 












II, ii 


13 


28 


Northumber- 










II, iv 


75 


210 


land 


I, iii 


10 


3i 




III, ii 


4 


44 












III, iii 


17 


43 


Hotspur 


I, iii 


22 


157 




IV, ii 


4 


8 




II, iii 


11 


65 




V,i 


6 


28 




III, i 


27 


"3 




V, iii 


4 


9 




IV, i 


T4 


74 




V, iv 


13 


74 




IV, iii 


10 


69 




V, v 


2 






V, ii 


7 


38 






167 


537 




V, iii 

V, iv 


5 


8 












_5 


16 


Lancaster 


V, iv 
V, v 


4 

1 


7 






101 


540 






5 


9 


Mortimer 
Archbishop of 


III, i 


13 


45 


Westmore- 








York 


IV, iv 


5 


33 


land 


I,i 
IV, ii 


5 
2 


34 
6 


Douglas 


IV, i 


5 


12 




V, iv 


j 


1 




IV, iii 


3 


3 






~8 


— 




V, ii 


3 


6 






4i 




V, iii 


5 


16 


Blunt 


I, iii 








V, iv 


2 


8 




7 












III, ii 


1 


7 






18 


45 




IV, iii 


6 


17 
_Z 












V, iii 


-^ 


Glendower 


III, i 


19 


74 






11 


38 











lx 



DISTRIBUTION OF CHARACTERS 



lxi 







NO. OF 


NO. OF 






no. of 


NO. OF 






SPEECHES 


LINES 






speeches 


LINES 


Vernon 


IV, i 
IV, iii 


5 
5 


23 
J 9 


2 Carrier 


II, i 


5 


13 




V, ii 


J 


21 


Sheriff 


II, iv 


5 


8 






13 


63 


OSLER 


II, i 


1 


1 


Falsxaff 


I,ii 
11, ii 


24 
16 


11 

55 


Chamberlain 


II, i 


6 


18 




II, iv 

III, iii 

IV, ii 


55 
30 
11 


213 
113 
60 


Messenger 


IV, i 

V, ii 


4 

2 


6 

2 




V, i 


4 


«7 






6 


8 




V, iii 


5 


20 












V, iv 


5 


j6 


Bardolph 


II, i 
II, ii 


\ 


1 
1 






150 


59' 




II, iv 


5 


1 1 


Michael 


IV, iv 


3 


8 




III, iii 

IV, ii 


7 
_2 


1 1 
_3 


POINS 


I, ii 

II, ii 


9 
4 


44 

7 






17 


27 




II, iv 


_L2 


22 


Peto 


II, iv 


5 


14 






32 


73 


Travellers 


11, ii 


3 


5 


Gadshill 


II, i 
II, ii 


4 


36 
6 


Thieves 


II, ii 


1 


1 




II, iv 


18 


_3 

45 


Servant 


II, iii 


3 


3 










Francis 


II, iv 


13 


13 


Lady Percy 


II, iii 


8 


45 












III, i 


15 


1 1 

56 


Vintner 


II, iv 


1 


4 










Hostess 


II, iv 


8 


12 


i Carrier 


II, i 


7 


20 




III, iii 


i5 


21 




II, iv 


1 
8 


__5 
25 






23 


45 



KING HENRY THE FOURTH 
PART I 



DRAMATIS PERSON^ 1 

King Henry the Fourth - 

Henry, Prince of Wales, "1 . ., v . 

' ' }■ sons to the King 

John of Lancaster, J 

Earl of Westmoreland 

Sir Walter Blunt 

Thomas Percy, Earl of Worcester 

Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland 

Henry Percy, surnamed Hotspur, son to the Earl of 

Northumberland 

Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March 

Richard Scroop, Archbishop of York 

Archibald, Earl of Douglas 

Owen Glendower 

Sir Richard Vernon 

Sir John Falstaff 3 

Sir Michael, a friend to the Archbishop of York 

Poins 

Gadshill 

Peto 

Bardolph 4 

Lady Percy, wife to Hotspur, and sister to Mortimer 

Lady Mortimer, daughter to Glendower, and wife to Mortimer 

Mistress Quickly, hostess of a tavern in Eastcheap 

Lords, Officers, Sheriff, Vintner, Chamberlain, Drawers, two 
Carriers, Travelers, and Attendants 

Scene : England and Wales 

1 Rowe was the first to give a list of Dramatis Personse. 

2 Notes on the historical relations of the Dramatis Persons are given 
either in the Introduction (Historical Connections) or when each character 
is introduced into the play. 

3 Falstaff. The name is spelled 'Falstaffe' or 'Falstalffe' in the Quartos, 
but ' Falstaffe ' in the First Folio. 

4 Bardolph. The Quartos give ' Bardoll' or ''Bardol.* 

2 



ACT I 

Scene I. [London. The Palace] 

Enter King Henry, Lord John of Lancaster, the Earl 
of Westmoreland, [Sir Walter Blunt] and others 

King Henry. So shaken as we are, so wan with care, 
Find we a time for frighted Peace to pant, 
And breathe short-winded accents of new broils 
To be commenc'd in strands afar remote. 
No more the thirsty entrance of this soil 5 

4. strands Capell | stronds QqF{F 2 \ storms F 3 F 4 . 

ACT I. Scene I. In the Folios, not in the Quartos, the play is 
divided into acts and scenes, which are given with Latin nomen- 
clature. The bracketed matter in the stage directions throughout 
the play is the work of Rowe and later editors. 

1-4. The image is of Peace so scared and out of breath with 
domestic strife that she can but make a brief pause, and pant 
forth short and broken speech of new wars to be undertaken in 
foreign lands. This play distinctly is continuous with Richard II, 
at the close of which Bolingbroke avows his purpose to atone 
for the death of Richard by leading out another Crusade : 
I'll make a voyage to the Holy Land, 
To wash this blood off from my guilty hand. 

And in fact he was hardly more than seated on the throne before 
he began to be so harassed by acts of rebellion and threats of 
invasion that he conceived the plan of drowning the public sense 
of his usurpation in an enthusiasm of foreign war and conquest. 
5. entrance: mouth. Cf. Genesis, iv. 11 : "And now art thou 
cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive 
thy brother's blood from thy hand." 

3 



4 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

Shall daub her lips with her own children's blood ; 

No more shall trenching war channel her fields, 

Nor bruise her flowerets with the armed hoofs 

Of hostile paces : those opposed eyes, 

Which, like the meteors of a troubled heaven, 10 

All of one nature, of one substance bred, 

Did lately meet in the intestine shock 

And furious close of civil butchery, 

Shall now, in mutual well-beseeming ranks, 

March all one way and be no more oppos'd 1 5 

Against acquaintance, kindred and allies : 

The edge of war, like an ill-sheathed knife, 

No more shall cut his master. Therefore, friends, 

As far as to the sepulchre of Christ, 

Whose soldier now, under whose blessed cross 20 

We are impressed and engag'd to fight, 

Forthwith a power of English shall we levy ; 

Whose arms were moulded in their mothers' womb 

To chase these pagans in those holy fields 

Over whose acres walk'd those blessed feet 25 

Which fourteen hundred years ago were nail'd 

For our advantage on the bitter cross. 

But this our purpose now is twelve month old, 

And bootless 'tis to tell you we will go : 

Therefore we meet not now. Then let me hear 30 

28. now is twelve month Q X Q 2 | is a twelvemonth Ff. 

7. trenching : entrenching, throwing up breastworks. 

13. furious close : fierce hand-to-hand encounter. 

14. mutual : united. Cf. A Midsummer Night's Dream, IV, i, 121. 
18. his : its. 'Its' was just coming into use in Shakespeare's day. 
30. Therefore . . . now: this is not why we are meeting. 



scene I HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 5 

Of you, my gentle cousin Westmoreland, 
What yesternight our council did decree 
In forwarding this dear expedience. 

Westmoreland. My liege, this haste was hot in 

question, 
And many limits of the charge set down 35 

But yesternight : when all athwart there came 
A post from Wales loaden with heavy news ; 
Whose worst was, that the noble Mortimer, 
Leading the men of Herefordshire to fight 
Against the irregular and wild Glendower, 40 

Was by the rude hands of that Welshman taken, 
A thousand of his people butchered ; 
Upon whose dead corpse there was such misuse, 
Such beastly shameless transformation, 
By those Welshwomen done as may not be 45 

Without much shame retold or spoken of. 

King Henry. It seems then that the tidings of this 

broil 
Brake off our business for the Holy Land. 
Westmoreland. This match'd with other did, my 

gracious lord ; 

42. A thousand Qq | And a thousand Ff. 

31. 'Cousin' was often used in the general sense of 'kinsman.' 
Ralph Neville, the Earl of Westmoreland, married for his first 
wife Joan, daughter to John of Gaunt, by Catharine Swynford, 
and therefore half-sister to Henry IV (see Introduction, His- 
torical Connections). 

33. dear expedience : momentous enterprise. 

34. hot in question : most earnestly discussed. 

43. corpse : corpses. So we have 'horse' for 'horses,' 'house' 
for 'houses,' 'sense' for 'senses,' etc. See Abbott, §471. 



6 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

For more uneven and unwelcome news 5 o 

Came from the north and thus it did import : 

On Holy-rood day, the gallant Hotspur there, 

Young Harry Percy and brave Archibald, 

That ever-valiant and approved Scot, 

At Holmedon met, 55 

Where they did spend a sad and bloody hour ; 

As by discharge of their artillery, 

And shape of likelihood, the news was told ; 

For he that brought them, in the very heat 

And pride of their contention did take horse, 60 

Uncertain of the issue any way. 

King Henry. Here is a dear, a true industrious friend, 
Sir Walter Blunt, new lighted from his horse, 
Stain'd with the variation of each soil 
Betwixt that Holmedon and this seat of ours ; 65 

And he hath brought us smooth and welcome news. 
The Earl of Douglas is discomfited : 
Ten thousand bold Scots, two and twenty knights, 
Balk'd in their own blood did Sir Walter see 
On Holmedon's plains. Of prisoners, Hotspur took 70 

65. that Qq I the Ff. 

52. rood : cross. Cf. 2 Henry IV, III, ii, 3 ; Richard III, III, 
ii, 77 ; Romeo and Juliet, I, iii, 36 ; Hamlet, III, iv, 14. Holy- 
rood Day was the 14th of September. Hotspur is said to have 
been so called by the Scots, because, from the age of twelve years, 
when he first began to bear arms against them, "his spur was 
never cold." Cf. II, iv, 102-104. 

58. news. Used indifferently as singular or plural ; hence 'was' 
and 'them.' 'Tidings' was similarly used. 

64. A most vivid expression of Sir Walter's speed and diligence. 

69. Balk'd: heaped. A 'balk' was a ridge left unplowed be- 
tween two furrows; and to 'balk' was to 'plow up in ridges.' 



scene i HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 7 

Mordake the Earl of Fife, and eldest son 

To beaten Douglas ; and the Earl of Athol, 

Of Murray, Angus, and Menteith : 

And is not this an honourable spoil ? 

A gallant prize? ha, cousin, is it not? 75 

Westmoreland. In faith, 
It is a conquest for a prince to boast of. 

King Henry. Yea, there thou mak'st me sad and 
mak'st me sin 
In envy that my* Lord Northumberland 
Should be the father to so blest a son, 80 

A son who is the theme of honour's tongue ; 
Amongst a grove, the very straightest plant ; 
Who is sweet Fortune's minion and her pride : 
Whilst I, by looking on the praise of him, 
See riot and dishonour stain the brow 85 

Of my young Harry. O that it could be prov'd 
That some night-tripping fairy had exchang'd 
In cradle-clothes our children where they lay, 

71. the Pope I QqFf omit. 

71-72. This reads as if the Earl of Fife were the son of Douglas, 
whereas he was son to the Duke of Albany, who was then regent 
of Scotland. The matter is thus given by Holinshed : " Of prison- 
ers among other were these : Mordacke earle of Fife, son to the 
governour, Archembald earle Dowglas, which in the fight lost one 
of his eies." Shakespeare's mistake was evidently caused by the 
omission of the comma after 'governour.' 

76-77. In faith, It is. Quartos and Folios give these words to 
King Henry. Steevens made the emendation. 

83. minion : darling, favorite, pet. Frequently so. 

87. Shakespeare here and elsewhere suggests that Hotspur and 
the Prince of Wales were of the same age; Hotspur was really the 
older by three years. 



8 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

And call'd mine Percy, his Plantagenet! 
Then would I have his Harry, and he mine. 90 

But let him from my thoughts. What think you, coz, 
Of this young Percy's pride? the prisoners, 
Which he in this adventure hath surpris'd, 
To his own use he keeps ; and sends me word, 
I shall have none but Mordake Earl of Fife. 95 

Westmoreland. This is his uncle's teaching : this is 
Worcester, 
Malevolent to you in all aspects ; 
Which makes him prune himself, and bristle up 
The crest of youth against your dignity. 

89. Among the pranks which the ancient 'night-tripping fairies' 
were supposed to enact, was that of stealing choice babies out of 
their cradles, and leaving inferior specimens, 'changelings,' in their 
stead. Cf. A Midsummer Night's Dream, II, i, 120. 

92-95. prisoners . . . Fife. Percy had an exclusive right to 
all the prisoners except the Earl of Fife. By the law of arms, 
every man who had taken any captive, whose redemption did not 
exceed ten thousand crowns, had him to himself to release or ran- 
som at his pleasure. But Percy could not refuse the Earl of Fife ; 
for since he was a prince of the royal blood, Henry might justly 
claim him, by his acknowledged military prerogative. 

97. Malevolent . . . aspects. An astrological allusion. Worces- 
ter is represented as a malignant star that influenced the conduct 
of Hotspur. And the effect of planetary predominance, which was 
held to be irresistible, is implied. Cf. The Winter's Tale, II, i, 107 ; 
Troilus and Cressida, I, iii, 92 ; King Lear, II, ii, 112. 'Aspect' 
in Shakespeare is always accented on the second syllable. 

98. prune. "The metaphor is taken from a cock, who in his 
pride 'prunes' himself, that is, picks off the loose feathers to 
smooth the rest. To 'prune' and to 'plume,' spoken of a bird, is 
the same." — Johnson. Cf. Cymbeline, V, iv, 118: 

His royal bird 
Prunes the immortal wing, and cloys his beak. 



scene ii HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 9 

King Henry. But I have sent for him to answer this ; 
And for this cause awhile we must neglect iot 

Our holy purpose to Jerusalem. 
Cousin, on Wednesday next our council we 
Will hold at Windsor; so inform the lords: 
But come yourself with speed to us again ; 105 

For more is to be said and to be done 
Than out of anger can be uttered. 

Westmoreland. I will, my liege. Exeunt 



Scene II. [London. An apartment of the 
Prince's] 

Enter the Prince of Wales and Falstaff 

Falstaff. Now, Hal, what time of day is it, lad? 

Prince of Wales. Thou art so fat-witted, with drink- 
ing of old sack and unbuttoning thee after supper and 
sleeping upon benches after noon, that thou hast for- 
gotten to demand that truly which thou wouldst truly 
know. What a devil hast thou to do with the time of the 
day? Unless hours were cups of sack, and minutes 

104. so QqF 2 F 3 F 4 I and soFj. 4. after noon Qq | in the afternoone Ff. 

106-107. For more . . . uttered. The king means that he 
must not give the reins to his tongue while his mind is in such a 
state of perturbation. That he should thus keep his lips closed 
when he is in danger of speaking indecorously is a fine trait in 
his character. 

3. sack. "The generic name of Spanish and Canary wines." 
— Schmidt. 

4-6. thou hast forgotten . . . know. The prince implies that 
Falstaff's concern is with the night rather than with the day. 



10 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

capons, and the blessed sun himself a fair hot wench in 
flame-coloured taffeta, I see no reason why thou shouldst 
be so superfluous to demand the time of the day. 10 

Falstaff. Indeed, you come near me now, Hal ; for 
we that take purses go by the moon and the seven stars, 
and not by Phoebus, he, Uhat wandering knight so fair.' 
And, I prithee, sweet wag, when thou art king, as, God 
save thy grace, — majesty I should say, for grace thou wilt 
have none, — 16 

Prince of Wales. What, none? 

Falstaff. No, by my troth, not so much as will 
serve to be prologue to an egg and butter. 

Prince of Wales. Well, how then? come, roundly, 
roundly. 21 

Falstaff. Marry, then, sweet wag, when thou art 
king, let not us that are squires of the night's body be 
called thieves of the day's beauty: let us be Diana's 
foresters, gentlemen of the shade, minions of the moon ; 

9-10. taffeta : a rich silk of a wavy luster. — thou shouldst . . . 
superfluous : you should give yourself the unnecessary trouble. 

12. the seven stars : the Pleiades. 

13. that wandering knight so fair. Falstaff quotes from 
some ballad based, as Steevens conjectured, on the Spanish 
romance El Donzel del Febo, translated into English in 1579. 

18-ig. not so much . . . butter : not so much grace as will 
serve for saying grace before meat. Eggs and butter appear to 
have been a favorite breakfast dish. Cf. II, i, 56. 

20. roundly : speak plainly, directly, without ceremony. 

23-25. squires . . . beauty. Falstaff is an inveterate player on 
words, as here between 'night' and 'knight,' 'beauty' and 'booty.' 
A 'squire of the body' originally meant an attendant on a knight. 
— Diana's foresters. Hall in his Chronicle tells of a pageant ex- 
hibited in the reign of Henry VIII, wherein certain persons ap- 
peared as 'foresters' and were called 'Diana's knights.' 



scene ii HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 1 1 

and let men say we be men of good government, being 
governed, as the sea is, by our noble and chaste mistress 
the moon, under whose countenance we steal. 28 

Prince of Wales. Thou say'st well, and it holds well 
too ; for the fortune of us that are the moon's men doth - 
ebb and flow like the sea, being governed, as the sea is, 
by the moon. As, for proof, now : a purse of gold most 
resolutely snatch'd on Monday night and most disso- 
lutely spent on Tuesday morning ; got with swearing 
'Lay by' and spent with crying 'Bring in'; now in as 
low an ebb as the foot of the ladder and by and by in as 
high a flow as the ridge of the gallows. 37 

Falstaff. By the Lord, thou say'st true, lad. And is 
not my hostess of the tavern a most sweet wench ? 

38. By the Lord Oq | Ff omit (see note below). 

28. countenance: appearance of favor, moral support. See 
Murray. 

35. Lay by. This was in use as a nautical term for 'slacken 
sail.' So in Henry VIII, III, i, 10-11 : 

Even the billows of the sea 

Hung their heads, and then lay by. 

In the text it may be a phrase addressed by highwaymen to the 
persons they have waylaid, like "Stand! and deliver," or it may 
be a phrase used by highwaymen to each other when watching for 
their game. — Bring in : the call for more wine. 

36-37. The allusion is to the ladder by which the criminal 
mounted the scaffold. The 'ridge' was the crossbeam of the 
gallows. For 'ridge' the later Folios have 'ride.' 

38. By the Lord. Omitted, like so many similar expressions, 
from the First Folio. A statute was passed early (1603) in the 
reign of James I forbidding the profane naming of the Deity and 
the citation of Scripture in a stage play. Hence the omission from 
the First Folio (1623) of many expressions found in the early 
Quartos (1598, i599)- 



12 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

Prince of Wales. As the honey of Hybla, my old 
lad of the castle. And is not a buff jerkin a most sweet 
robe of durance? 42 

Falstaff. How now, how now, mad wag ! what, in 
thy quips and thy quiddities? what a plague have I to 
do with a buff jerkin ? 45 

Prince of Wales. Why, what a pox have I to do 
with my hostess of the tavern ? 

Falstaff. Well, thou hast called her to a reckoning 
many a time and oft. 

Prince of Wales. Did I ever call for thee to pay thy 
part? 51 

Falstaff. No ; I'll give thee thy due, thou hast paid 
all there. 

Prince of Wales. Yea, and elsewhere, so far as my 
coin would stretch ; and where it would not, I have used 
my credit. 56 

Falstaff. Yea, and so us'd it that, were it not here 
apparent that thou art heir apparent — But, I prithee, 
sweet wag, shall there be gallows standing in England 

57. were it not Qq | were it Ff. 

40-41. honey of Hybla. Hybla in Sicily, like Mount Hymettus 
in Greece, was famous for its bees and honey. The Folios omit ' of 
Hybla.' Cf. Julius Caesar, V, i, 34. — old lad of the castle: roy- 
sterer. It is certain that in this play, as originally written, Falstaff 
bore the name of Oldcastle (see Introduction) ; and the expression 
'old lad of the castle' had a point to it now lost. 

44. quiddities : subtleties, frivolous distinctions. From the late 
Latin quidditas, a term much used by mediaeval schoolmen. 

45. buff jerkin : a jerkin or coat made of ox-hide, commonly 
worn by sheriff's officers. It seems to have been called a 'robe of 
durance,' both because of its great .durability and because it was 
the wearer's business to put debtors and criminals in 'durance.' 



scene ii HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 13 

when thou art king? and resolution thus fobb'd as it is 
with the rusty curb of old father antic the law ? Do not 
thou, when thou art king, hang a thief. 62 

Prince of Wales. No ; thou shalt. 

Falstaff. Shall I? O rare! By the Lord, I'll be a 
brave judge. 6 5 

Prince of Wales. Thou judgest false already: I 
mean, thou shalt have the hanging of the thieves and so 
become a rare hangman. 

Falstaff. Well, Hal, well ; and in some sort it jumps 
with my humour as well as waiting in the court, I can 
tell you. 7i 

Prince of Wales. For obtaining of suits? 

Falstaff. Yea, for obtaining of suits, whereof the 
hangman hath no lean wardrobe. 'Sblood, I am as 
melancholy as a gib cat or a lugg'd bear. 75 

Prince of Wales. Or an old lion, or a lover's lute. 

62. king Q 1 I a king Q 2 Ff. 

60. fobb'd : cheated, tricked. Cf. Coriolanus, I, i, 97- 

61. antic : buffoon. Cf. Richard II, III, ii, 162. 

69-70. jumps with: suits. Cf. The Merchant of Venice, II, 

73. suits. A quibble between 'suits' meaning 'petitions and 
the 'suits of clothes.' A hangman received his victim's clothes as 
a perquisite. 

74. 'Sblood. As a sort of compromise between reverence and 
profanity, various oaths became so curtailed and disguised in the 
use that their original meaning was almost lost. Among these 
"Sblood' and 'Zounds' were very common, the original forms 
being 'God's blood' and 'God's wounds.' 

75. gib cat: male cat. 'Gib' was a contraction of 'Gilbert.' 
Cf. the common expression 'tomcat' of to-day— a lugg'd bear: 
a performing bear dragged or led by the head through the streets. 
Cf. "the head-lugg'd bear," King Lear, TV, ii, 4 2 - 



14 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

Falstaff. Yea, or the drone of a Lincolnshire 
bagpipe. 

Prince of Wales. What say'st thou to a hare, or the 
melancholy of Moor-ditch? 80 

Falstaff. Thou hast the most unsavoury similes and 
art indeed the most comparative, rascalliest, sweet young 
prince. But, Hal, I prithee, trouble me no more with 
vanity. I would to God thou and I knew where a com- 
modity of good names were to be bought. An old lord 
of the council rated me the other day in the street about 
you, sir, but I mark'd him not ; and yet he talk'd very 
wisely, but I regarded him not; and yet he talk'd 
wisely, and in the street too. 89 

Prince of Wales. Thou didst well ; for wisdom cries 
out in the streets, and no man regards it. 91 

82. rascalliest Q t | rascallest Ff. 90-91. wisdom . . . and 

84. to God Qq I Ff omit (and so elsewhere). Qq | Ff omit. 

77-78. drone . . . bagpipe. The 'drone' was the bass tube of 
a bagpipe, which emits only one deep monotonous sound like that 
of a drone bee. Steevens refers to a " sweete ballad of The Lincoln- 
shire Bagpipes" referred to in a work published in 1590. 

79. hare. The hare seems to have been proverbial as a type of 
melancholy. In illustration of the text, Staunton aptly quotes from 
Turberville's Book on Hunting and Falconry. "The hare first taught 
us the use of the hearbe called wyld Succory, which is very excel- 
lent for those which are disposed to be melancholicke: shee herselfe 
is one of the most melancholicke beasts that is, and to heale her 
own infirmitie she goeth commonly to sit under that hearbe." 

80. Moor-ditch: a part of the ditch surrounding the city of 
London, opening on an unwholesome morass, and therefore with an 
air of melancholy. So in Taylor's Pennylesse Pilgrimage (1618): 
" My body being tired with travel, and my mind attired with moody 
muddy, Moore-ditch melancholy." 

82. comparative: fond of making comparisons. CI. Ill, ii, 67. 
90-91. The prince's words are based on Proverbs, i, 20. 



scene ii HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 1 5 

Falstaff. O, thou hast damnable iteration and art 
indeed able to corrupt a saint. Thou hast done much 
harm upon me, Hal ; God forgive thee for it ! Before I 
knew thee, Hal, I knew nothing ; and now am I, if a man 
should speak truly, little better than one of the wicked. 
I must give over this life, and I will give it over : by the 
Lord, and I do not, I am a villain: I'll be damn'd for 
never a king's son in Christendom. 99 

Prince of Wales. Where shall we take a purse to- 
morrow, Jack? 

Falstaff. 'Zounds, where thou wilt, lad ; I'll make 
one ; and I do not, call me villain and baffle me. 

Prince of Wales. I see a good amendment of life in 
thee ; from praying to purse-taking. 105 

Falstaff. Why, Hal, 'tis my vocation, Hal; 'tis no 
sin for a man to labour in his vocation. 

Enter Poins 

Poins ! Now shall we know if Gadshill have set a match. 
O, if men were to be saved by merit, what hole in hell 

108. Scene III. Pope. 108. match Qq | Watch Ff. 

92. damnable iteration : quoting Scripture to wicked ends. 

98, 103. and : if. So in the Folios ; the Quartos and most modern 
editions use the form 'an.' 'And' meaning 'if is common in 
Middle and Elizabethan English, as well as in colloquial and pro- 
vincial use to-day. See Abbott, §§ 101, 103. 

103. baffle : use contemptuously, treat with ignominy. Orig- 
inally to ' baffle ' involved a punishment of infamy inflicted on 
recreant knights, one part of which was hanging them up by the 
heels. The degrading of a false knight is set forth in The Faerie 
Queene, V, iii, 37. 

108. Gadshill. This is not only the name of a character in the 
play but (as in line 126) the name of a place, a low wooded hill a 



16 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act I 

were hot enough for him? This is the most omnipotent 
villain that ever cried 'Stand' to a true man. m 

Prince of Wales. Good morrow, Ned. 

Poins. Good morrow, sweet Hal. What says Monsieur 
Remorse ? what says Sir John Sack and Sugar ? Jack ! 
how agrees the devil and thee about thy soul, that thou 
soldest him on Good-Friday last for a cup of Madeira 
and a cold capon's leg? 117 

Prince of Wales. Sir John stands to his word, the 
devil shall have his bargain ; for he was never yet a 
breaker of proverbs : he will give the devil his due. 120 

Poins. Then art thou damn'd for keeping thy word 
with the devil. 

Prince of Wales. Else he had been damn'd for coz- 
ening the devil. 124 

Poins. But, my lads, my lads, to-morrow morning, by 
four o'clock, early at Gadshill ! there are pilgrims going 
to Canterbury with rich offerings, and traders riding to 
London with fat purses : I have vizards for you all ; you 
have horses for yourselves : Gadshill lies to-night in 

little more than two miles northwest of Rochester, on the road 
between London and Canterbury. It was notorious in Shake- 
speare's day for highway robberies. To-day the Sir John Falstaff 
inn stands on the summit of the hill, and a little lower on the 
opposite side of the road is Gad's Hill Place, where Charles Dickens 
lived from 1857 to his death in 1870. — set a match: made an 
appointment. 

114. Sack and Sugar. Nares has pretty much proved Sir 
John's favorite beverage to have been the Spanish wine now 
called sherry. So in Blount's Glossographia : " Sherry sack, so 
called from Xeres y a town of Corduba in Spain, where that kind 
of sack is made." Indeed Falstaff expressly calls it sherris-sack 
(2 Henry IV, IV, iii, 104). 



scene ii HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 17 

Rochester: I have bespoke supper to-morrow night in 
Eastcheap : we may do it as secure as sleep. If you will 
go, I will stuff your purses full of crowns ; if you will not, 
tarry at home and be hanged. 133 

Falstaff. Hear ye, Yedward ; if I tarry at home and 
go not, I'll hang you for going. 135 

Poins. You will, chops? 

Falstaff. Hal, wilt thou make one? 

Prince of Wales. Who, I rob? I a thief? not I, by 
my faith. 139 

Falstaff. There's neither honesty, manhood, nor good 
fellowship in thee, nor thou cam'st not of the blood royal, 
if thou dar'st not stand for ten shillings. 

Prince of Wales. Well then, once in my days I'll 
be a madcap. 

Falstaff. Why, that's well said. 145 

Prince of Wales. Well, come what will, I'll tarry at 
home. 

Falstaff. By the Lord, I'll be a traitor then, when 
thou art king. 

Prince of Wales. I care not. 150 

Poins. Sir John, I prithee, leave the prince and me 
alone : I will lay him down such reasons for this adven- 
ture that he shall go. 153 

Falstaff. Well, God give thee the spirit of persuasion 
and him the ears of profiting, that what thou speak'st 

131. Eastcheap, a thoroughfare and market near London Bridge, 
was famous for its flesh and fish markets and its taverns. Here 
was Dame Quickly 's tavern. 

134. Yedward : a familiar corruption of Edward. 

141-142. royal . . . shillings. A pun on 'royal,' which was a 
coin valued at 10s. Cf. II, iv, 291. 



1 8 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

may move and what he hears may be believed, that the 
true prince may, for recreation sake, prove a false thief ; 
for the poor abuses of the time want countenance. Fare- 
well : you shall find me in Eastcheap. 159 

Prince of Wales. Farewell, thou latter spring ! fare- 
well, All-hallown summer ! Exit Falstaff 

Poins. Now, my good sweet honey lord, ride with us 
to-morrow : I have a jest to execute that I cannot man- 
age alone. Falstaff, Bardolph, Peto and Gadshill shall 
rob those men that we have already waylaid ; yourself 
and I will not be there ; and when they have the booty, 
if you and I do not rob them, cut this head off from my 
shoulders. 168 

Prince of Wales. How shall we part with them in 
setting forth? 

Poins. Why, we will set forth before or after them, 
and appoint them a place of meeting, wherein it is at our 
pleasure to fail, and then will they adventure upon the 
exploit themselves ; which they shall have no sooner 
achieved, but we'll set upon them. 175 

Prince of Wales. Yea, but 'tis like that they will 

160. Farewell, thou Pope | Fare- 164. Bardolph, Peto Theobald | 
wel the QqFf. Haruey Rossill QqFf (see note). 

161. All-hallown : All-hallows-day. All Saints' Day, the first 
of November. Nothing could more happily express the character 
of Falstaff as sowing wild oats in his old age, or as carrying on the 
May and June of life to the verge of winter. 

164. "Theobald was the first to suggest that Harvey and 
Rossill were the names of the actors who performed the parts of 
Peto and Bardolph. But in II, iv, 173, 175, 179 for ^Ross.' which 
is found in the Quartos the Folios substitute not *Bard.' but 
'Gad.' i.e. ' Gadshill. ,'" — Cambridge. 



scene ii HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 19 

know us by our horses, by our habits and by every other 
appointment, to be ourselves. 17& 

Poins. Tut! our horses they shall not see; I'll tie 
them in the wood ; our vizards we will change after we 
leave them: and, sirrah, I have cases of buckram for 
the nonce, to immask our noted outward garments. 

Prince of Wales. Yea, but I doubt they will be too 
hard for us. 184 

Poins. Well, for two of them, I know them to be as 
true-bred cowards as ever turned back ; and for the 
third, if he fight longer than he sees reason, I'll for- 
swear arms. The virtue of this jest will be, the in- 
comprehensible lies that this same fat rogue will tell us 
when we meet at supper : how thirty, at least, he fought 
with ; what wards, what blows, what extremities he en- 
dured ; and in the reproof of this lies the jest. 192 

Prince of Wales. Well, I'll go with thee: provide us 
all things necessary and meet me to-morrow night in 
Eastcheap ; there I'll sup. Farewell. 195 

Poins. Farewell, my lord. Exit 

Prince of Wales. I know you all, and will awhile 
uphold 
The unyok'd humour of your idleness: 

189. same Q x | Ff omit. 

178. appointment : equipment, outfit. 

1 81-182. sirrah. Used merely in a playful, familiar way, with- 
out implying any lack of respect. — for the nonce: for the occa- 
sion, for the once. See Murray. 

183. doubt : fear, suspect. Frequently so. 

191. wards : guards in fencing, postures of defence. 

192. reproof : refutation, disproof. 

198. unyok'd : untamed. Like steers not broken into work. 



20 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

Yet herein will I imitate the sun, 

Who doth permit the base contagious clouds 200 

To smother up his beauty from the world, 

That, when he please again to be himself, 

Being wanted, he may be more wond'red at, 

By breaking through the foul and ugly mists 

Of vapours that did seem to strangle him. 205 

If all the year were playing holidays, 

To sport would be as tedious as to work ; 

But when they seldom come, they wish'd for come, 

And nothing pleaseth but rare accidents. 

So, when this loose behaviour I throw off 210 

And pay the debt I never promised, 

By how much better than my word I am, 

By so much shall I falsify men's hopes; 

And like bright metal on a sullen ground, 

My reformation, glittering o'er my fault, 215 

Shall show more goodly and attract more eyes 

Than that which hath no foil to set it off. 

I'll so offend, to make offence a skill ; 

Redeeming time when men think least I will. Exit 

199-205. Cf. the description of the sun, Sonnets, xxxiii, 5-8. 
205. strangle. Cf. Macbeth, II, iv, 7: "And yet dark night 
strangles the travelling lamp." 

209. accidents : happenings, occurrences. 

213. hopes : expectations, anticipations. Cf. Othello, I, iii, 203. 

214. sullen: dark, black. Cf. Richard, the Second, V, vi, 48. 
218. I will offend in such a way as to make my wrong-doing 

seem skillful policy. Johnson says: "This speech is very artfully 
introduced, to keep the prince from appearing vile in the opinion of 
the audience : it prepares them for his future reformation ; and, 
what is yet more valuable, exhibits a natural picture of a great 
mind offering excuses to itself." 



scene in HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 2 1 

Scene III. [London. The palace] 

Enter the King, Northumberland, Worcester, Hot- 
spur, Sir Walter Blunt, with others 

King Henry. My blood hath been too cold and 
temperate, 
Unapt to stir at these indignities, 
And you have found me ; for accordingly 
You tread upon my patience : but be sure 
I will from henceforth rather be myself, 5 

Mighty and to be fear'd, than my condition ; 
Which hath been smooth as oil, soft as young down, 
And therefore lost that title of respect 
Which the proud soul ne'er pays but to the proud. 

Worcester. Our house, my sovereign liege, little 
deserves 10 

The scourge of greatness to be us'd on it ; 
And that same greatness too which our own hands 
Have holp to make so portly. 

Northumberland. My lord, — 

King Henry. Worcester, get thee gone ; for I do see 
Danger and disobedience in thine eye : 16 

O, sir, your presence is too bold and peremptory, 

Scene III | Scene IV Pope. 

3. Littledale's emendation is ingenious: "And you have found 
me so; accordingly ..." 'For' would be an easy misprint for 
'soe' written with the long 's.' 

6. condition : temper, disposition. Often so. The king means 
that he will rather be what his office requires than what his 
natural disposition prompts him to be. 

13. holp. An old past form of the verb 'help.' — portly: 
stately, imposing. Cf. The Merchant of Venice, III, ii, 283-284. 



2 2 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

And majesty might never yet endure 

The moody frontier of a servant brow. 

You have good leave to leave us: when we need 20 

Your use and counsel, we shall send for you. 

Exit Worcester 
You were about to speak. To Northumberland 

Northumberland. Yea, my good lord. 

Those prisoners in your highness' name demanded, 
Which Harry Percy here at Holmedon took, 
Were, as he says, not with such strength denied 25 

As is deliver 'd to your majesty : 
Either envy, therefore, or misprision 
Is guilty of this fault and not my son. 

Hotspur. My liege, I did deny no prisoners. 
But I remember, when the fight was done, 30 

When I was dry with rage and extreme toil, 
Breathless and faint, leaning upon my sword, 
Came there a certain lord, neat, and trimly dress'd, 
Fresh as a bridegroom ; and his chin new reap'd 
Show'd like a stubble-land at harvest-home; 35 

He was perfumed like a milliner ; 

23. name Qq | Ff omit. 27. Either . . . therefore Qq | Who 

either through envy Ff. 

19. frontier : military outwork, threatening fortification. So in 
II, iii, Si- 

27. envy : malice. The sense it more commonly bears in 
Shakespeare. — misprision : misapprehension. 

35. stubble-land. The courtier's beard, according to the 
fashion in Shakespeare's time, would not be closely shaved, but 
trimmed, and would therefore look like a stubble field. 

36. milliner: "a vendor of 'fancy' wares and articles of ap- 
parel, especially of such as were originally of Milan manufacture." 
— Murray. Cf. The Winter's Tale, IV, iv, 192. 



scene in HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 23 

And 'twixt his finger and his thumb he held 

A pouncet-box, which ever and anon 

He gave his nose and took't away again ; 

Who therewith angry, when it next came there, 40 

Took it in snuff ; and still he smil'd and talk'd, 

And as the soldiers bore dead bodies by, 

He call'd them untaught knaves, unmannerly, 

To bring a slovenly unhandsome corse 

Betwixt the wind and his nobility. 45, 

With many holiday and lady terms 

He question'd me; amongst the rest, demanded 

My prisoners in your majesty's behalf. 

I then, all smarting with my wounds being cold, 

To be so pest'red with a popinjay, 50 

Out of my grief and my impatience, 

Answer'd neglectingly I know not what, 

He should, or he should not ; for he made me mad 

To see him shine so brisk and smell so sweet 

And talk so like a waiting-gentlewoman 55 

Of guns and drums and wounds, — God save the mark ! — 

And telling me the sovereign 'st thing on earth 

Was parmaceti for an inward bruise ; 

And that it was great pity, so it was, 

This villainous salt-petre should be digg'd 60 

Out of the bowels of the harmless earth, 

60. This Qq I That Ff. 

38. pouncet-box : a small box with a perforated lid, used for 
holding musk or other perfumes. "Perhaps originally a misprint 
for 'pounced-box,' i.e. pierced or perforated box." — Murray. 

41. Took it in snuff : snuffed it up. But there is a quibble 
on the phrase, which was equivalent to 'taking offense.' 

58. parmaceti: spermaceti. A popular form. 



24 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

Which many a good tall fellow had destroy'd 

So cowardly ; and but for these vile guns, 

He would himself have been a soldier. 

This bald unjointed chat of his, my lord, 65 

I answer'd indirectly, as I said ; 

And I beseech you, let not his report 

Come current for an accusation 

Betwixt my love and your high majesty. 

Blunt. The .circumstance considered, good my lord, 
Whatever Lord Harry Percy then had said 71 

To such a person and in such a place, 
At such a time, with all the rest retold, 
May reasonably die and never rise 
To do him wrong or any way impeach 75 

What then he said, so he unsay it now. 

King Henry. Why, yet he doth deny his prisoners, 
But with proviso and exception, 
That we at our own charge shall ransom straight 
His brother-in-law, the foolish Mortimer ; 80 

Who, on my soul, hath wilfully betray'd 
The lives of those that he did lead to fight 
Against that great magician, damn'd Glendower, 
Whose daughter, as we hear, the Earl of March 

66. I answer'd Qq | Made me to answer Ff. 

64. soldier. A trisyllable here, as in Hamlet, I, v. 141 ; 
Julius Ccesar, IV, i, 28. See Abbott, § 479. 

78. exception. A quadrisyllable. Cf. lines 147, 150, and 226. 

84. Earl of March. The Mortimer who had been sent into 
Wales was not the Earl of March, but Sir Edmund Mortimer, 
uncle to the Earl, and therefore perhaps distrusted by the king, 
as the natural protector of his nephew. At this time the Earl of 
March was but about ten years old, and was held in safe-keeping 



scene in HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 25 

Hath lately married. Shall our coffers, then, 85 

Be emptied to redeem a traitor home? 
Shall we buy treason ? and indent with fears, 
When they have lost and forfeited themselves? 
No, on the barren mountains let him starve ; 
For I shall never hold that man my friend 90 

Whose tongue shall ask me for one penny cost 
To ransom home revolted Mortimer. 
y Hotspur. Revolted Mortimer ! 
He never did fall off, my sovereign liege, 
But by the chance of war : to prove that true 95 

Needs no more but one tongue for all those wounds, 
Those mouthed wounds, which valiantly he took, 
While on the gentle Severn's sedgy bank, 
In single opposition, hand to hand, 
He did confound the best part of an hour 100 

In changing hardiment with great Glendower : 
Three times they breath'd and three times did they drink, 
Upon agreement, of swift Severn's flood ; 

at Windsor. The mistake runs through Holinshed's chapter on the 
reign of Henry IV. 

87. indent with : make a covenant or compact with. The 
expression here suggests to compromise or make terms.— fears: 
persons to be feared.— Shakespeare sometimes uses subject and 
object interchangeably. Cf. Macbeth, I iii, 138-139 : " Present 
fears Are less than horrible imaginings," where 'fears' is put for 
'danger,' that is, the things or persons feared. The meaning of 
the passage in the text probably is, Shall we buy off traitors, or 
make terms with persons once dangerous indeed, but who have 
now forfeited and lost whatsoever rendered them formidable ? 

100. confound: spend, consume. Cf. Coriolanus, I, vi, 17-18: 
" How couldst thou in a mile confound an hour ? " 

101. changing hardiment: courageous exchange of blows. 



2 6 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

Who then, affrighted with their bloody looks, 

Ran fearfully among the trembling reeds, 105 

And hid his crisp head in the hollow bank 

Bloodstained with these valiant combatants. 

Never did base and rotten policy 

Colour her working with such deadly wounds; 

Nor never could the noble Mortimer no 

Receive so many, and all willingly : 

Then let not him be sland'red with revolt. 

King Henry. Thou dost belie him, Percy, thou dost 
belie him; 
He never did encounter with Glendower : 
I tell thee, 115 

He durst as well have met the devil alone 
As Owen Glendower for an enemy. 
Art thou not asham'd? But, sirrah, henceforth 
Let me not hear you speak of Mortimer : 
Send me your prisoners with the speediest means, 120 
Or you shall hear in such a kind from me 
As will displease you. My Lord Northumberland, 
We license your departure with your son. 
Send us your prisoners, or you will hear of it. 

Exeunt King Henry, [Blunt, and train] 

108. base and Ff | bare and Qq. 112. not him Q x | him not Ff. 

106. crisp: rippled, curled. Cf. The Tempest, IV, i, 130: "leave 
your crisp channels." The same image occurs in Beaumont and 
Fletcher's Loyal Subject : " The Volga trembled at his terror, and 
hid his seven curled heads." So in Ben Jonson's Vision of Delight : 
"The rivers run as smoothed by his hand, Only their heads are 
crisped by his stroke." 

109. Colour : disguise. 

113. belie him: give a false account of his conduct. 



scene in HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 27 

Hotspur. And if the devil come and roar for them, 125 
I will not send them : I will after straight 
And tell him so ; for I will ease my heart, 
Albeit I make a hazard of my head. 

Northumberland. What, drunk with choler? stay 
and pause awhile : 
Here comes your uncle. 

Re-enter Worcester 

Hotspur. Speak of Mortimer ! 130 

'Zounds, I will speak of him ; and let my soul 
Want mercy, if I do not join with him : 
Yea, on his part I'll empty all these veins, 
And shed my dear blood drop by drop in the dust, 
But I will lift the down-trod Mortimer 135 

As high in the air as this unthankful king, 
As this ingrate and cank'red Bolingbroke. 

Northumberland. Brother, the king hath made your 
nephew mad. 

Worcester. Who struck this heat up after I was 
gone? 

Hotspur. He will, forsooth, have all my prisoners ; 
And when I urg'd the ransom once again 141 

Of my wife's brother, then his cheek look'd pale, 
And on my face he turn'd an eye of death, 
Trembling even at the name of Mortimer. 

128. Albeit I make a Qq | Although it be with Ff. 

125. And if. For this intensification of the conditional use of 
'and,' see Abbott, §103. So in II, iii, 87; IV, ii, 7. 

137. cank'red: malignant. Used of anything that corrodes. 
143. eye of death: eye that threatens death. 



28 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

Worcester. I cannot blame him: was not he pro- 
claim'd 145 

By Richard that dead is the next of blood? 

Northumberland. He was ; I heard the proclama- 
tion : 
And then it was when the unhappy king, — 
Whose wrongs in us God pardon! — did set forth 
Upon his Irish expedition ; 1 50 

From whence he intercepted did return 
To be depos'd and shortly murdered, 

Worcester. And for whose death we in the world's 
wide mouth 
Live scandaliz'd and foully spoken of. 

Hotspur. But, soft, I pray you ; did King Richard 
then 155 

Proclaim my brother Edmund Mortimer 
Heir to the crown? 

Northumberland. He did ; myself did hear it. 

Hotspur. Nay, then I cannot blame his cousin king, 
That wish'd him on the barren mountains starve. 
But shall it be, that you, that set the crown 160 

152. murdered Q : | murthered Ff (and so elsewhere). 

145-146. proclaim'd . . . the next of blood. Roger Morti- 
mer, Earl of March, was declared heir-apparent to the crown in 
1385, but was killed in Ireland in 1398. His mother was Philippa, 
the only child of Lionel, Duke of Clarence, who was the second 
son of Edward III. In the strict order of succession the crown 
was due to Edmund Mortimer, the son of Roger, who was accord- 
ingly proclaimed heir-apparent by Richard II. 

149. wrongs in us : the wrongs which we inflicted on him. 
The Percys had been the chief supporters of Bolingbroke in his 
usurpation. 



scene in HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 29 

Upon the head of this forgetful man 

And for his sake wear the detested blot 

Of murderous subornation, shall it be, 

That you a world of curses undergo, 

Being the agents, or base second means, 165 

The cords, the ladder, or the hangman rather? 

O, pardon me that I descend so low, 

To show the line and the predicament 

Wherein you range under this subtle king; 

Shall it for shame be spoken in these days, 170 

Or fill up chronicles in time to come, 

That men of your nobility and powder 

Did gage them both in an unjust behalf, 

As both of you — God pardon it ! — have done, 

To put down Richard, that sweet lovely rose, 175 

And plant this thorn, this canker, Bolingbroke? 

And shall it in more shame be further spoken, 

That you are fool'd, discarded and shook off 

By him for whom these shames ye underwent? 

No ; yet time serves wherein you may redeem 180 

Your banish 'd honours and restore yourselves 

Into the good thoughts of the world again, 

Revenge the jeering and disdain'd contempt 

167. me Q x I if Ff. 

163. murderous subornation : instigation to murder. 

168. predicament : class or description of men. 

i73- gage: pledge. — both. Referring to 'nobility' and 'power.' 

176. canker : dog-rose. The rose of the hedge, not of the 
garden. Cf. Much Ado About Nothing, I, iii, 28-29: "I had 
rather be a canker in a hedge than a rose in his grace." 

183. disdain'd: disdainful, disdaining. An instance of the in- 
discriminate use of active and passive forms. See Abbott, § 374. 



30 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

Of this proud king, who studies day and night 
To answer all the debt he owes to you 185 

Even with the bloody payment of your deaths : 
Therefore, I say, — 

Worcester. Peace, cousin, say no more : 

And now I will unclasp a secret book, 
And to your quick-conceiving discontents 
I'll read you matter deep and dangerous, 190 

As full of peril and adventurous spirit 
As to o'er-walk a current roaring loud 
On the unsteadfast footing of a spear. 

Hotspur. If he fall in, good night ! or sink or swim : 
Send danger from the east unto the west, 195 

So honour cross it from the north to south, 
And let them grapple : O, the blood more stirs 
To rouse a lion than to start a hare ! 

Northumberland. Imagination of some great exploit. 
Drives him beyond the bounds of patience. 200 

Hotspur. By heaven, methinks it were an easy leap, 
To pluck bright honour from the pale-fac'd moon, 
Or dive into the bottom of the deep, 
Where fathom-line could never touch the ground, 
And pluck up drowned honour by the locks ; 205 

So he that doth redeem her thence might wear 
Without corrival all her dignities : 
But out upon this half-fac'd fellowship ! 

Worcester. He apprehends a world of figures here, 
But not the form of what he should attend. 210 

Good cousin, give me audience for a while. 

201. Hotspur Q 1 | Ff omit. 
211. After this line the Folios insert 'And list to me.' 



scene in HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 31 

Hotspur. I cry you mercy. 

Worcester. These same noble Scots 

That are your prisoners, — 

Hotspur. I'll keep them all ; 

By God, he shall not have a Scot of them ; 
No, if a Scot would save his soul, he shall not: 215 

I'll keep them, by this hand. 

Worcester. You start away 

And lend no ear unto my purposes. 
Those prisoners you shall keep. 

Hotspur. Nay, I will ; that's flat : 

He said he would not ransom Mortimer; 
Forbad my tongue to speak of Mortimer; 220 

But I will find him when he lies asleep, 
And in his ear I'll holla * Mortimer! ' 
Nay, 

I'll have a starling shall be taught to speak 
Nothing but c Mortimer,' and give it him, 225 

To keep his anger still in motion. 

Worcester. Hear you, cousin ; a word. 

Hotspur. All studies here I solemnly defy, 
Save how to gall and pinch this Bolingbroke : 
And that same sword-and-buckler Prince of Wales, 230 
But that I think his father loves him not 

224. For the omission of the relative see Abbott, §244. 

228. defy : renounce, abjure. So in IV, i, 6. Cf. King John, 
III, iv, 23 : "No, I defy all counsel, all redress." 

230. sword-and-buckler. "Upon the introduction of the 
rapier and dagger, the sword and buckler fell into desuetude 
among the higher classes, and were accounted fitting weapons for 
the vulgar only, such as Hotspur implies were the associates of 
the prince." — Staunton. 



32 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

And would be glad he met with some mischance, 
I would have him poison'd with a pot of ale. 

Worcester. Farewell, kinsman : I'll talk to you 
When you are better temp'red to attend. 235 

Northumberland. Why, what a wasp-stung and 
impatient fool 
Art thou to break into this woman's mood, 
Tying thine ear to no tongue but thine own ! 

Hotspur. Why, look you, I am whipp'd and scourg'd 
with rods, 
Nettled and stung with pismires, when I hear 240 

Of this vile politician, Bolingbroke. 
In Richard's time, — what do you call the place? — 
A plague upon it, it is in Gloucestershire ; 
Twas where the madcap duke his uncle kept, 
His uncle York ; where I first bow'd my knee 245 

Unto this king of smiles, this Bolingbroke, — 
'Sblood! — 
When you and he came back from Ravenspurgh. 

Northumberland. At Berkley castle. 

236. wasp-stung Q x | wasp-tongu'd 247. 'Sblood Q x | Ff omit (and 

Ff. elsewhere). 

233. Hotspur is here speaking out of his anger and impatience : 
not that he could seriously think of doing what he says ; for he 
is the soul of honor, and incapable of anything mean. 

240. pismires : ants. Still common in dialect. 

241. politician: schemer. This word has usually a sinister sig- 
nification in Shakespeare. — Bolingbroke. Henry Plantagenet, the 
king of this play, was surnamed Bolingbroke from a castle in Lin- 
colnshire, where he was born. His father, John of Gaunt, was so 
called from the place of his birth, the city of Ghent in Flanders. 

244. kept: dwelt. Cf. The Merchant of Venice, III, iii, 18-19: 
"The most impenetrable cur That ever kept with men." 



scene in HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 33 

Hotspur. You say true: 250 

Why, what a candy deal of courtesy 
This fawning greyhound then did proffer me ! 
Look, 'when his infant fortune came to age,' 
And * gentle Harry Percy,' and 'kind cousin'; 
O, the devil take such cozeners ! God forgive me ! 255 
Good uncle, tell your tale ; I have done. 

Worcester. Nay, if you have not, to it again ; 
W r e will stay your leisure. 

Hotspur. I have done, i' faith. 

Worcester. Then once more to your Scottish pris- 
oners. 
Deliver them up without their ransom straight, 260 

And make the Douglas' son your only mean 
For powers in Scotland ; which, for divers reasons 
Which I shall send you written, be assur'd, 
Will easily be granted. You, my lord, 

To Northumberland 
Your son in Scotland being thus employ'd, 265 

Shall secretly into the bosom creep 
Of that same noble prelate, well belov'd, 
The archbishop. 

Hotspur. Of York, is it not? 

258. i' faith Ch | in sooth Ff (and elsewhere). 

251. a candy deal of courtesy : a deal of sugared courtesy. 
Cf. Hamlet, III, ii, 65: "No, let the candied tongue lick absurd 
pomp." 

255. cozeners : cheats, swindlers. Hotspur is snapping off a 
pun or play between 'cousin' and 'cozener.' Cf. Richard HI, 
IV, iv, 222-223: "Cousins, indeed; and by their uncle cozen'd 
Of comfort, kingdom, kindred, freedom, life." 

261-262. mean For powers : agent for raising forces. 



34 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

Worcester. True ; who bears hard 270 

His brother's death at Bristol, the Lord Scroop. 
I speak not this in estimation, 
As what I think might be, but what I know 
Is ruminated, plotted and set down, 
And only stays but to behold the face 275 

Of that occasion that shall bring it on. 

Hotspur. I smell it : upon my life, it will do well. 

Northumberland. Before the game's afoot, thou still 
let'st slip. 

Hotspur. Why, it cannot choose but be a noble plot : 
And then the power of Scotland and of York, 280 

To join with Mortimer, ha? 

Worcester. And so they shall. 

Hotspur. In faith, it is exceedingly well aim'd. 

Worcester. And 'tis no little reason bids us speed, 
To save our heads by raising of a head ; 
For, bear ourselves as even as we can, 285 

The king will always think him in our debt, 
And think we think ourselves unsatisfied, 
Till he hath found a time to pay us home : 

278. games 's Ff | game is QiQ 2 Globe. 

272. in estimation : on mere conjecture or inference. 

278. still: always, continually. Often so. — let'st slip. The met- 
aphor is taken from hunting. To 'let slip' is to loose the hounds 
from the leash of leather by which they were held in hand till it 
was time to let them pursue the game. Cf. Julius Caesar, III, ii, 
2 73> Coriolanus, I, vi, 39; Henry V, II, ii, 3. 

284. head : armed force. Cf. V, i, 66. 

288. pay . . . home : punish thoroughly. Cf. The Tempest, V, 
i, 70-71 : "I will pay thy graces Home both in word and deed"; 
where, however, 'pay' means 'reward.' 



scene in HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 35 

And see already how he doth begin 

To make us strangers to his looks of love. 290 

Hotspur. He does, he does : we'll be reveng'd on him. 

Worcester. Cousin, farewell : no further go in this 
Than I by letters shall direct your course. 
When time is ripe, which will be suddenly, 
I'll steal to Glendower and Lord Mortimer ; 295 

Where you and Douglas and our powers at once, 
As I will fashion it, shall happily meet, 
To bear our fortunes in our own strong arms, 
Which now we hold at much uncertainty. 

Northumberland. Farewell, good brother : we shall 
thrive, I trust. 300 

Hotspur. Uncle, adieu : O, let the hours be short 
Till fields and blows and groans applaud our sport ! 

Exeunt 

292. Cousin. Often used as a title of courtesy, and applied to 
'uncle,' 'nephew,' 'niece,' or even 'grandchild.' Cf. I, i, 31, and see 
note. 



ACT II 

Scene I. [Rochester. An inn yard] 

Enter a Carrier with a lantern in his hand 

1 Carrier. Heigh-ho! an it be not four by the 
day, I'll be hang'd : Charles' wain is over the new 
chimney, and yet our horse not pack'd. What, ostler ! 
Ostler. [Within] Anon, anon. 4 

1 Carrier. I prithee, Tom, beat Cut's saddle, put 
a few flocks in the point; poor jade, is wrung in the 
withers out of all cess. 

i. an: if. So in Quartos and Folios. See note, I, ii, 98. 

2. Charles' wain. The common name for the constellation 
called the Great Bear. The name is derived from Charlemagne. 
"The guess 'churl' or 'carl's wain' has been made in ignorance of 
the history." — Murray. 

4. Anon: immediately. Equivalent to the modern waiter's ' Com- 
ing!' So in II, iv, 25, 36, 43, 51, 86, and elsewhere. 

5. beat Cut's saddle. 'Cut' seems to have been a common name 
for a horse, and the general meaning is, *beat the saddle until it is 
soft.' Probably 'Cut' in this sense is connected with 'curtal,' which 
originally meant a horse with its tail cut or docked and sometimes 
with the ears cropped (cf. II, iii, 68). Both 'cut' and 'curtal' 
came to be applied to persons in an offensive sense. 

6-7. flocks: flakes of wool. — wrung . . . withers. The 'with- 
ers' of a horse is the ridge between the shoulder bones at the 
bottom of the neck, under the point of the saddle. 'Wrung' as 
thus used is the same as 'gall'd.' Cf. Hamlet, III, ii, 252-253. 
— out of all cess: beyond all measure. The etymological spelling 
is 'sess,' an aphetic form of 'assessment.' 

36 



scene i HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 37 

Enter another Carrier 

2 Carrier. Peas and beans are as dank here as a 
dog, and that is the next way to give poor jades the 
bots: this house is turned upside down since Robin 
Ostler died. " 

1 Carrier. Poor fellow, never joy'd since the price 
of oats rose; it was the death of him. 

2 Carrier. I think this be the most villainous house 
in all London road for fleas: I am stung like a 
tench. 16 

1 Carrier. Like a tench! by the mass, there is 
ne'er a king christen could be better bit than I have been 
since the first cock. What, ostler! come away and be 
hang'd! come away. 20 

2 Carrier. I have a gammon of bacon and two 
razes of ginger, to be delivered as far as Charing-cross. 

9. that Q x I this Ff. 17- by the mass Q x | Ff omit. 

14. this be Q x | this is Ff. 18. christen Q x \ in Christendome Ff. 

8. dank: moist, damp. So in A Midsummer Night's Dream, 
II, ii, 75; Romeo and Juliet, II, iii, 6; Julius Ccesar, II, i, 263. 

9. dog. The dog was probably as much overworked in allitera- 
tive comparisons three centuries ago as he is now. — the next way: 
the nearest way. So in III, i, 261. 

10. bots: parasitical worms especially infesting horses. 
15-16. stung . . . tench. Probably another jingling simile, like 

'dank as a dog,' but in Holland's translation (London, 1601) of 
the ninth book of Pliny's Natural History is an account of the old 
belief that fishes in summer were often stung by fleas. 

22. razes : roots tied in a bundle. In The Famous Victories of 
Henry V (see Introduction, Sources) is a reference to "the great 
rase of ginger," of which Dericke the carrier is robbed at Gadshill. 
— Charing-cross. This ancient shrine, now in the heart of London, 
was in the outskirts in the sixteenth century. 



38 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

1 Carrier. God's body! the turkeys in my pannier 
are quite starv'd. What, ostler! A plague on thee! 
hast thou never an eye in thy head? canst not hear? 
And 'twere not as good deed as drink, to break the pate 
on thee, I am a very villain. Come, and be hang'd ! hast 
no faith in thee? 28 

Enter Gadshill 

Gadshill. Good morrow, carriers. What's o'clock? 
1 Carrier. I think it be two o'clock. 30 

Gadshill. I prithee, lend me thy lantern, to see my 
gelding in the stable. 

1 Carrier. Nay, by God, soft ; I know a trick worth 
two of that, i' faith. 

Gadshill. I pray thee, lend me thine. 35 

2 Carrier. Ay, when? canst tell? Lend me thy 
lantern, quoth he? marry, I'll see thee hang'd first. 

Gadshill. Sirrah carrier, what time do you mean to 
come to London? 39 

2 Carrier. Time enough to go to bed with a candle, 
I warrant thee. Come, neighbour Mugs, we'll call up 
the gentlemen: they will along with company, for they 
have great charge. Exeunt Carriers 

23. God's body Q l | Ff omit. 31. lantern Q x | Lanthorne F 1 F 2 . 

23. turkeys. An anachronism. Turkeys were not brought into 
England until the reign of Henry VIII. 

26. And: if. See note, I, ii, 98. So in II, ii, 43; iii, 21; iv, 143, 
237, 377, 413 ; HI, i, 262 ; iii, 7, 152. 

30. two o'clock. The carrier has already said (lines 1-2), "an 
it be not four by the day, I'll be hang'd." Probably he suspects 
Gadshill, and tries to mislead him. 



scene i HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 39 

Gadshill. What, ho ! chamberlain ! 44 

Chamberlain. [Within] At hand, quoth pick-purse. 

Gadshill. That's even as fair as — at hand, quoth 

the chamberlain ; for thou variest no more from picking 

of purses than giving direction doth from labouring; 

thou lay'st the plot how. 49 

Enter Chamberlain 

Chamberlain. Good morrow, Master Gadshill. It 
holds current that I told you yesternight : there 's a 
franklin in the wild of Kent hath brought three hundred 
marks with him in gold : I heard him tell it to one of his 
company last night at supper ; a kind of auditor ; one 
that hath abundance of charge too, God knows what. 
They are up already, and call for eggs and butter : they 
will away presently. 57 

Gadshill. Sirrah, if they meet not with Saint Nicho- 
las' clerks, I'll give thee this neck. 

44. Scene II Pope. 

44. chamberlain. An attendant at an inn, in charge of the bed- 
chambers. As here represented, chamberlains often concerted with 
highwaymen for the waylaying of travelers. 

45. A slang phrase of the time, often found in old plays. 

52. franklin: freeholder, yeoman. The designation of a class 
of small landowners, of free but not noble birth and ranking next 
below the gentry. See the description of the Franklin in Chaucer's 
Prologue. — wild: weald, open country. 

54. auditor: officer of the revenue or exchequer. 

55. abundance of charge. Probably money belonging to the 
state; as Bardolph afterwards says (II, ii, 52-53), "'tis going to the 
king's exchequer." 

58-59. Saint Nicholas' clerks: thieves, highwaymen. Since 
Nicholas or Old Nick was a cant name for the devil, thieves were 
equivocally called 'St. Nicholas' clerks.' 



40 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

Chamberlain. No, I'll none of it : I pray thee, keep 
that for the hangman ; for I know thou worshipp'st Saint 
Nicholas as truly as a man of falsehood may. 62 

Gadshill. What talkest thou to me of the hangman ? 
if I hang, I'll make a fat pair of gallows; for if I hang, 
old Sir John hangs with me, and thou know'st he 
is no starveling. Tut ! there are other Trojans that 
thou dream'st not of, the which for sport sake are con- 
tent to do the profession some grace ; that would, if 
matters should be look'd into, for their own credit sake, 
make all whole. I am join'd with no foot land-rakers, 
no long-staff sixpenny strikers, none of these mad mus- 
tachio purple-hued malt-worms ; but with nobility and 
tranquillity, burgomasters and great oneyers, such as can 
hold in, such as will strike sooner than speak, and speak 

66. starveling. Cf. Starveling in A Midsummer Night's Dream. 
— Trojans. Another cant term for thieves. Cf. Love's Labour's 
Lost, V, ii, 640; Henry V, V, i, 20. See note. II, i, 12. 

70. foot land-rakers : tramps going on foot, vagabonds. 

71-72. long-staff . . . strikers : fellows that infested the roads 
with long-staffs and knocked men down for a paltry coin. 'Striker' 
was a common name for a petty thief. — mad . . . malt-worms: 
topers whose fierce-looking mustachios are stained purple with liquor. 

73. oneyers. Many emendations have been suggested, such as 
'moneyers,' 'owners,' 'mynheers,' etc. Malone interpreted the 
word as 'public accountants'; Grant White contends that it is a 
playful expression for' ones ' with the punning sense of ' owners ' added. 

74. hold in. Apparently a term of the chase, applied to a pack 
of hounds when they all acted in concert, or pulled together in 
pursuit of the game. So that the sense of the phrase as applied to 
men would be 'stick by each other,' or 'be true to each other.' 
This interpretation appears to be sustained by a passage in Turber- 
ville's Booke of Hunting: "If they run it endways orderly and make 
it good, then, when they hold in together merrily, we say, They are 



scene i HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 41 

sooner than drink, and drink sooner than pray : and yet, 
'zounds, I lie ; for they pray continually to their saint, 
the commonwealth ; or rather, not pray to her, but prey 
on her, for they ride up and down on her and make 
her their boots. 79 

Chamberlain. What, the commonwealth their boots? 
will she hold out water in foul way ? 

Gadshill. She will, she will ; justice hath liquor'd 
her. We steal as in a castle, cock-sure ; we have the 
receipt of fern-seed, we walk invisible. 84 

Chamberlain. Nay, by my faith, I think you are 
more beholding to the night than to fern-seed for your 
walking invisible. 

Gadshill. Give me thy hand : thou shalt have a 
share in our purchase, as I am a true man. 89 

Chamberlain. Nay, rather let me have it, as you are 
a false thief. 

Gadshill. Go to; c homo' is a common name to all 
men. Bid the ostler bring my gelding out of the stable. 
Farewell, you muddy knave. Exeunt 

79, 80. boots. Used in the double sense of * booty' and 'advan- 
tage.' Cf. Ill, i, 67-68. 

81. hold . . . way : keep out water on a muddy road. 

82. liquor'd: greased with tallow. Cf. The Merry Wives of 
Windsor, IV, v, 100-102: "They would melt me out of my fat drop 
by drop, and liquor fishermen's boots with me." 

84. receipt . . . invisible. Fern-seed was thought to have the 
power of rendering invisible those who carried it. So in Ben Jon- 
son's New Inn, i, 1 : "Because indeed I had No med'cine, sir, to 
go invisible ; No fern-seed in my pocket." 

89. purchase: gain, profit, whether legally or illegally obtained. 
Cf. Henry V, III, ii, 44-45 : "They will steal any thing, and call it 
purchase." — true man. Repeatedly in this play for 'honest man,' 



42 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

Scene II. [The highway, near Gadshill] 

Enter Prince Henry and Poins 

Poins. Come, shelter, shelter : I have remov'd Fal- 
staff's horse, and he frets like a gumm'd velvet. 
Prince Henry. Stand close. 

Enter Falstaff 

Falstaff. Poins ! Poins, and be hang'd ! Poins ! 

Prince Henry. Peace, ye fat-kidney'd rascal ! what 
a brawling dost thou keep ! 6 

Falstaff. Where's Poins, Hal? 

Prince Henry. He is walk'd up to the top of the 
hill : I'll go seek him. 9 

Falstaff. I am accurs'd to rob in that thief's com- 
pany : the rascal hath remov'd my horse, and tied him 
I know not where. If I travel but four foot by the squier 
further afoot, I shall break my wind. Well, I doubt not 
but to die a fair death for all this, if I scape hanging for 
killing that rogue. I have forsworn his company hourly 

Scene II | Scene III Pope. 

and so antithetic to 'thief.' In II, ii, 91, the prince says, "The 
thieves have bound the true men." The usage was common. 

2. frets . . . velvet. A quibble. Velvet and taffeta were some- 
times stiffened with gum ; in which cases the fabric soon got fretted 
away and spoilt. Cf. Marston, The Malcontent (1604) : "I'll come 
among ye, like gum into taffeta, to fret, fret." 

10. to rob: in robbing. The infinitive used indefinitely or ge- 
rundively. Often so in Shakespeare. See Abbott, § 356. 

12. by the squier : measured by the foot-rule. 

14. scape. An aphetic form of 'escape.' Cf. 'squire 'for 'esquire.' 
So in line 59; III, i, 69; V, iii, 30. 



scene ii HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 43 

any time this two and twenty years, and yet I am be- 
witch'd with the rogue's company. If the rascal have 
not given me medicines to make me love him, I'll be 
hang'd ; it could not be else ; I have drunk medicines. 
Poins ! Hal ! a plague upon you both ! Bardolph ! Peto ! 
I'll starve ere I'll rob a foot further. An 'twere not as 
good a deed as drink, to turn true man and to leave 
these rogues, I am the veriest varlet that ever chew'd 
with a tooth. Eight yards of uneven ground is threescore 
and ten miles afoot with me ; and the stony-hearted 
villains know it well enough : a plague upon it when 
thieves cannot be true one to another! [They whistle] 
Whew ! A plague upon you all ! Give me my horse, 
you rogues ; give me my horse, and be hang'd ! 29 

Prince Henry. Peace, ye fat-guts! lie down; lay 
thine ear close to the ground and list if thou canst hear 
the tread of travellers. 32 

Falstaff. Have you any levers to lift me up again, 
being down ? 'Sblood, I'll not bear mine own flesh so 
far afoot again for all the coin in thy father's exchequer. 
What a plague mean ye to colt me thus ? 36 

Prince Henry. Thou liest ; thou art not colted, thou 
art uncolted. 

Falstaff. I prithee, good Prince Hal, help me to my 
horse, good king's son. 40 

28. plague Q t I plague light Ff. 

18. medicines . . . love him. Alluding to the love-philters, 
potions or powders, which were supposed to have the effect in 
question. Cf. Othello, I, in, 60-61 : "She is abus'd, stol'n from me, 
and corrupted By spells, and medicines, bought of mountebanks." 

36. colt : trick, fool, deceive. The prince proceeds to play on 
the word, for Falstaff has lost his horse. 



44 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

Prince Henry. Out, ye rogue ! shall I be your ostler ? 

Falstaff. Go hang thyself in thine own heir-apparent 
garters! If I be ta'en, I'll peach for this. And I have 
not ballads made on you all and sung to filthy tunes, 
let a cup of sack be my poison : when a jest is so forward, 
and afoot too ! I hate it. 46 

Enter Gadshill, [Bardolph and Peto with him] 

Gadshill. Stand. 

Falstaff. So I do, against my will. 

Poins. O, 'tis our setter: I know his voice. Bardolph, 
what news? 50 

Bardolph. Case ye, case ye ; on with your vizards : 
there 's money of the king's coming down the hill ; 'tis 
going to the king's exchequer. 

Falstaff. You lie, ye rogue ; 'tis going to the king's 
tavern. 55 

Gadshill. There's enough to make us all. 

Falstaff. To be hang'd. 

Prince. Sirs, you four shall front them in the narrow 
lane ; Ned Poins and I will walk lower : if they scape 
from your encounter, then they light on us. 60 

Peto. How many be there of them? 

Gadshill. Some eight or ten. 

Falstaff. 'Zounds, will they not rob us? 

42. Go Ff I Q l omits. 61. How . . . there Qi | But how many be Ff . 

43. garters. An allusion to the Order of the Garter and to the 
proverb, ''Let him hang himself in his own garters." 

44. ballads . . . you. Cf. Antony and Cleopatra, V, ii, 216. 

49. setter. Gadshill was to 'set a match' (I, ii, 108). 

50. what news? Johnson assigned this to Bardolph and gave 
Bardolph's reply to Gadshill. 



scene ii HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 45 

Prince Henry. What, a coward, Sir John Paunch ? 

Falstaff. Indeed, I am not John of Gaunt, your 
grandfather ; but yet no coward, Hal. 66 

Prince Henry. Well, we leave that to the proof. 

Poins. Sirrah Jack, thy horse stands behind the 
hedge : when thou needest him, there thou shalt find him. 
Farewell, and stand fast. 70 

Falstaff. Now cannot I strike him, if I should be 
hanged. 

Prince Henry. Ned, where are our disguises? 

Poins. Here, hard by: stand close. 

Exeunt Prince Henry and Poins 

Falstaff. Now, my masters, happy man be his dole, 
say I : every man to his business. 76 

Enter the Travellers 

First Traveller. Come, neighbour: the boy shall 
lead our horses down the hill; we'll walk afoot awhile, 
and ease our legs. 

Thieves. Stand ! 80 

Travellers. Jesus bless us ! 

Falstaff. Strike ; down with them ; cut the villains' 
throats : ah ! whoreson caterpillars ! bacon-fed knaves ! 
they hate us youth : down with them ; fleece them. 

Travellers. O, we are undone, both we and ours 
for ever ! 86 

77. Scene IV Pope. 80. Stand Q x | Stay Ff. 

75. happy . . . dole: may happiness be ours. This was a com- 
mon proverb. 'Dole' means 'lot' or 'share' meted out by fortune. 
Cf. The Winter's Tale, I, ii, 163; The Merry Wives of Windsor, 
III, iv, 68; The Taming of the Shrew, I, i, 144. 



46 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ir 

Falstaff. Hang ye, gorbellied knaves, are ye un- 
done ? No, ye fat chuffs ; I would your store were here ! 
On, bacons, on ! What, ye knaves ! young men must live. 
You are grandjurors, are ye ? we'll jure ye, 'faith. 90 
Here they rob them and bind them. Exeunt 

Re-enter Prince Henry and Poins 

Prince Henry. The thieves have bound the true men. 
Now could thou and I rob the thieves and go merrily 
to London, it would be argument for a week, laughter for 
a month and a good jest for ever. 

Poins. Stand close ; I hear them coming. 95 

Enter the Thieves again 

Falstaff. Come, my masters, let us share, and then 
to horse before day. An the Prince and Poins be not 
two arrant cowards, there's no equity stirring: there's 
no more valour in that Poins than in a wild-duck. 

Prince Henry. Your money! 100 

Poins. Villains ! 

As they are sharing, the Prince and Poins set 
upon them ; they all run away ; and Fal- 
staff, after a blow or two, runs away too, 
leaving the booty behind them 

87. gorbellied: pot-bellied. Falstaff, u a huge hill of flesh," 
reviling his victims for their corpulence, is an obvious stroke of 
humor. Similar are his exclamations " they hate us youth" (line 84) 
and "young men must live" (line 89). 

88. chuffs. A 'chuff,' according to Richardson, is a "burly, 
swollen man ; swollen either with gluttony and guzzling, or with 
ill tempers." Very often the word carried with it the suggestion 
of miserliness and avarice. See Murray. 

90. grandjurors: men of social pretensions. 



scene in HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 47 

Prince Henry. Got with much ease. Now merrily 
to horse : 
The thieves are all scatt'red and possess'd with fear 
So strongly that they dare not meet each other ; 
Each takes his fellow for an officer. 105 

Away, good Ned. Falstaff sweats to death, 
And lards the lean earth as he walks along: 
Were 't not for laughing, I should pity him. 

Poins. How the rogue roar'd ! Exeunt 

Scene III. [Warkworth Castle] 

Enter Hotspur, solus, reading a letter 

Hotspur. 'But, for mine own part, my lord, I could 
be well contented to be there, in respect of the love I 
bear your house.' He could be contented : why is he not, 
then? In respect of the love he bears our house: he 
shows in this, he loves his own barn better than he loves 
our house. Let me see some more. 'The purpose you 
undertake is dangerous'; — why that's certain: 'tis dan- 
gerous to take a cold, to sleep, to drink ; but I tell you, 
my lord fool, out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this 
flower, safety. 'The purpose you undertake is danger- 
ous ; the friends you have named uncertain ; the time 
itself unsorted ; and your whole plot too light for the 
counterpoise of so great an opposition.' Say you so, say 

Scene III [ Scene V Pope. 

1. Enter . . . letter. This letter has been ascribed to George 
Dunbar (see note, III, ii, 164), Earl of March, in Scotland, and also 
to Rokeby, High Sheriff of Yorkshire. It is unnecessary to ascribe 
it to any particular person. 



48 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

you so? I say unto you again, you are a shallow 
cowardly hind, and you lie. What a lack-brain is this ! 
By the Lord, our plot is a good plot as ever was laid ; 
our friends true and constant : a good plot, good friends, 
and full of expectation ; an excellent plot, very good 
friends. What a frosty-spirited rogue is this ! Why, my 
lord of York commends the plot and the general course 
of the action. 'Zounds, and I were now by this rascal, I 
could brain him with his lady's fan. Is there not my 
father, my uncle and myself? lord Edmund Mortimer, 
my lord of York and Owen Glendower? is there not 
besides the Douglas ? have I not all their letters to meet 
me in arms by the ninth of the next month ? and are they 
not some of them set forward already? What a pagan 
rascal is this ! an infidel ! Ha ! you shall see now in 
very sincerity of fear and cold heart, will he to the king 
and lay open all our proceedings. O, I could divide 
myself and go to buffets, for moving such a dish of 
skim milk with so honourable an action! Hang him! 
let him tell the king: we are prepar'd. I will set for- 
ward to-night. 34 

Enter Lady Percy 

Plow now, Kate ! I must leave you within these two hours. 
Lady Percy. O, my good lord, why are you thus 
alone ? 

16. By the Lord Qq | I protest Ff. 35. Scene VI Pope. 

30-31. I could divide . . . buffets: I could cut myself into two 
parts, and set the parts to cuffing each other. 

35. Kate. Shakespeare seems to have had a special liking for 
the name of Kate. The name of Hotspur's wife was Elizabeth. 
Holinshed, however, calls her Elinor. 



scene in HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 49 

For what offence have I this fortnight been 

A banish'd woman from my Harry's bed? 

Tell me, sweet lord, what is't that takes from thee 

Thy stomach, pleasure and thy golden sleep? 40 

Why dost thou bend thine eyes upon the earth, 

And start so often when thou sit'st alone? 

Why hast thou lost the fresh blood in thy cheeks ; 

And given my treasures and my rights of thee 

To thick-eyed musing and curs'd melancholy? 45 

In thy faint slumbers I by thee have watch'd, 

And heard thee murmur tales of iron wars ; 

Speak terms of manage to thy bounding steed ; 

Cry < Courage ! to the field ! ' And thou hast talk'd 

Of sallies and retires, of trenches, tents, 50 

Of palisadoes, frontiers, parapets, 

Of basilisks, of cannon, culverin, 

Of prisoners' ransom and of soldiers slain, 

And all the currents of a heady fight. 

Thy spirit within thee hath been so at war 55 

And thus hath so bestirr'd thee in thy sleep, 

That beads of sweat have stood upon thy brow, 

Like bubbles in a late-disturbed stream ; 

And in thy face strange motions have appear'd, 

Such as we see when men restrain their breath 60 

54. currents Q : | current Ff. 

50. retires: retreats. Cf. King John, II, i, 326; Henry V, IV, 
iii, 86. This meaning was common from 1550 to 1600. 

51. frontiers: outworks. Cf. I, iii, 19, and see note. 

52. basilisks: pieces of ordnance. So called from the fabulous 
reptile of that name. — culverin : long cannon. From Italian colubro, 
'snake.' Names of reptiles were often given to early cannon. 

54. currents: courses. — heady: impetuous. 



50 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

On some great sudden hest. O, what portents are these? 
Some heavy business hath my lord in hand, 
And I must know it, else he loves me not. 
Hotspur. What, ho ! 

[Enter Servant] 

Is Gilliams with the packet gone ? 

Servant. He is, my lord, an hour ago. 65 

Hotspur. Hath Butler brought those horses from the 
sheriff ? 

Servant. One horse, my lord, he brought even now. 

Hotspur. What horse? a roan, a crop-ear, is it not? 

Servant. It is, my lord. 

Hotspur. That roan shall be my throne. 

Well, I will back him straight : O Esperance ! 70 

Bid Butler lead him forth into the park. [Exit Servant] 

Lady Percy. But hear you, my lord. 

Hotspur. What say'st thou, my lady? 

Lady Percy. What is it carries you away ? 

Hotspur. Why, my horse, my love, my horse. 75 

Lady Percy. Out, you mad-headed ape ! 
A weasel hath not such a deal of spleen 
As you are toss'd with. In faith, 

61. hest Q x I haste Q 2 F 3 | hast F 1 F 2 . 

61. hest: behest, command. Cf. The Tempest, I, ii, 274. 

68. crop-ear: horse with docked ears. See note, II, i, 5. 

70. Esperance. The motto of the Percy family. Cf. V, ii, 70. 

77-78. A weasel . . . toss'd with. The ill-temper of the wea- 
sel was proverbial. Cf. Cymbeline, III, iv, 162. As the spleen was 
held to be the special seat of all sudden and explosive emotions, 
whether of mirth or anger, it is aptly assigned as the cause of Hot- 
spur's waywardness and capricious moodiness. 



scene in HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 51 

I'll know your business, Harry, that I will. 

I fear my brother Mortimer doth stir 80 

About his title, and hath sent for you 

To line his enterprize : but if you go, — 

Hotspur. So far afoot, I shall be weary, love. 

Lady Percy. Come, come, you paraquito, answer me 
Directly unto this question that I ask : 85 

In faith, I'll break thy little finger, Harry, 
And if thou wilt not tell me all things true. 

Hotspur. Away, 
Away, you trifler ! Love ! I love thee not, 
I care not for thee, Kate : this is no world 90 

To play with mammets and to tilt with lips : 
We must have bloody noses and crack'd crowns, 
And pass them current too. God's me, my horse ! 
What say'st thou, Kate? what would'st thou have 
with me? 

Lady Percy. Do you not love me? do you not. 
indeed ? 95 

Well, do not then ; for since you love me not, 

82. line: strengthen. Often so. Cf. Macbeth, I, iii, 11 2-1 13: 
"did line the rebel With hidden help and vantage." 

84. paraquito: small parrot. Also called 'perroquet' and 'par- 
rakeet.' The allusion is to its ceaseless chatter. 

91. mammets: puppets, dolls. The word is a variant of 'mau- 
met,' from 'Mahomet,' and means properly 'a false god,' 'idol.' 
Cf. Romeo and Juliet, III, v, 185-187: 

And then to have a wretched puling fool, 
A whining mammet, in her fortunes tender, 
To answer, ' I'll not wed ; I cannot love, 
I am too young ; I pray you, pardon me.' 

92-93. crowns . . . current. A play between the two senses of 
'crowns,' that is, heads and the coins so named. As Johnson said: 



52 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

I will not love myself. Do you not love me ? 
Nay, tell me if you speak in jest or no. 

JIotspur. Come, wilt thou see me ride? 
And when I am o' horseback, I will swear ioo 

I love thee infinitely. But hark you, Kate; 
I must not have you henceforth question me 
Whither I go, nor reason whereabout : 
Whither I must, I must ; and, to conclude, 
This evening must I leave you, gentle Kate. 105 

I know you wise, but yet no farther wise 
Than Harry Percy's wife : constant you are, 
But yet a woman : and for secrecy, 
No lady closer ; for I well believe 

Thou wilt not utter what thou dost not know; \y no 
And so far will I trust thee, gentle Kate. 

Lady Percy. How ! so far ? 

Hotspur. Not an inch further. But hark you, Kate : 
Whither I go, thither shall you go too ; 
To-day will I set forth, to-morrow you. 115 

Will this content you, Kate? 

Lady Percy. It must of force. Exeunt 

106. farther Q l | further Ff. 

'"Crack'd crowns' signifies at once cracked money and a broken 
head. 'Current' will apply to both: as it refers to money, its sense 
is well known ; as it is applied to a broken head, it insinuates that 
a soldier's wounds entitle him to universal respect." Malone pointed 
out that the same quibble occurs in the First Part of the play Sir 
John Oldcastle, 1600, IV, i: 

I'll none of your crack'd French crowns — 
King. No crack'd French crowns ! I hope to see more crack'd French 
crowns ere long. 

1 10. "A woman conceals what she knows not." — Ray's Proverbs. 



scene iv HENRY THE FOURTH, PART^I 53 

Scene IV. [The Boar's-Head Tavern, Eastcheap] 
Enter the Prince, and Poins 
Prince Henry. Ned, prithee, come out of that fat 
room, and lend me thy hand to laugh a little. 

Poins. Where hast been, Hal? 3 

Prince Henry. With three or four loggerheads 
amongst three or four score hogsheads. I have sounded 
the very base-string of humility. Sirrah, I am sworn 
brother to a leash of drawers ; and can call them all by 
their christen names, as Tom, Dick, and Francis. They 
take it already upon their salvation, that though I be 
but Prince of Wales, yet I am the king of courtesy ; and 
tell me flatly I am no proud Jack, like Falstaff, but a 

Scene IV I Scene VII Pope. 8. christen Qi | Ff omit. 

7. all q! I Ff omit. 9- salvation Q x [ confidence Ff. 

Scene IV. The Boar's-Head Tavern. This is the place of re- 
sort of the prince and his boon companions in The Famous Vic- 
tories of Henry V. The original tavern stood near the Blackfnars 
Playhouse; it was destroyed in the great fire of 1666, but was re- 
built on the same site and remained until it was torn down in 1831. 
Goldsmith in his Essays describes a visit to the house evidently 
under the impression that it was the earlier tavern. "Shakespeare 
has blended a verity of history and a daily visible actuality of his 
own London life into one piece of imperishable enamel-painting, by 
making the Boar's-Head Tavern in Eastcheap the meeting-place 
of Prince Hal, Sir John Falstaff, Ned Poins, Bardolph, Pistol, and 
Hostess Quickly."— Co wden Clarke. 

1-2 fat room. It does not well appear what room Poins was 
in or 'why it is called 'fat.' 'Fat' and Wat' were both used for 
'wine-vats.' Probably the word here means 'stuffy,' 'dense with 
fumes of liquor.' Cf. Antony and Cleopatra, II, vii, 122. 

7 leash : trio. Properly a string or thong for leading a dog 
It came to signify a 'trio' because three dogs were usually tied 
together. 



54 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

Corinthian, a lad of mettle, a good boy, by the Lord, so 
they call me, and when I am king of England, I shall 
command all the good lads in Eastcheap. They call 
drinking deep, dyeing scarlet ; and when you breathe in 
your watering, they cry ' hem ! ' and bid you play it off. 
To conclude, I am so good a proficient in one quarter of 
an hour, that I can drink with any tinker in his own 
language during my life. I tell thee, Ned, thou hast lost 
much honour, that thou wert not with me in this action. 
But, sweet Ned, — to sweeten which name of Ned, I give 
thee this pennyworth of sugar, clapp'd even now into my 
hand by an under-skinker, one that never spake other 
English in his life than ' Eight shillings and sixpence/ 
and 'You are welcome,' with this shrill addition, 'Anon, 
anon, sir ! Score a pint of bastard in the Half-moon/ or 
so. But, Ned, to drive away the time till Falstaff come, 
I prithee, do thou stand in some by-room, while I ques- 
tion my puny drawer to what end he gave me the sugar ; 
and do thou never leave calling 'Francis,' that his tale 

12. Corinthian. This word, like 'Trojan' (II, i, 66), appears 
to have been a cant term to describe a profligate idler or gay 
fellow about town. Here, as the words that follow show, it is 
used as a compliment. The word had reference to the morals of 
ancient Corinth. Cf. 'Ephesians,' 2 Henry IV, II, ii, 164. 

15-16. breathe in your watering : stop and take breath when 
you are drinking. The figure is from watering horses. 

22. Sugar was kept folded up in paper, ready to be delivered 
to those who called for sack. 

23. under-skinker: under-drawer, tapster. 

25-26. 'Anon, anon, sir!* See note, II, i, 4. — bastard: a sweet 
Spanish wine. See note, line 72. — Half-moon. A room in the 
tavern. So with 'Pomgarnet,' lines 36-37. 

29. puny. A play on ' puisne,' the technical term for a younger 
son and wittily applied here to the under-skinker. 



scene iv HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 55 

to me may be nothing but 'Anon.' Step aside, and I'll 
show thee a precedent. 32 

Poins. Francis ! 

Prince Henry. Thou art perfect. 

Poins. Francis! Exit Poins 

Enter Francis 

Francis. Anon, anon, sir. Look down into the Pom- 
garnet, Ralph. 37 

Prince Henry. Come hither, Francis. 

Francis. My lord? 

Prince Henry. How long hast thou to serve, Francis? 

Francis. Forsooth, five years, and as much as to — 

Poins. [Within] Francis! 42 

Francis. Anon, anon, sir. 

Prince Henry. Five year ! by'r lady, a long lease for 
the clinking of pewter. But, Francis, darest thou be so 
valiant as to play the coward with thy indenture and 
show it a fair pair of heels and run from it? 47 

Francis. O Lord, sir, I'll be sworn upon all the books 
in England, I could find in my heart. 

Poins. [Within] Francis! 50 

Francis. Anon, sir. 

Prince Henry. How old art thou, Francis? 

32. precedent Pope | president 36. Scene VIII Pope. — Enter 

Ff I present Q v Francis | Enter Drawer Q 1 Ff. 

32. precedent: something serving as a sample, specimen. 

36-37. Pomgarnet: Pomegranate. See note, lines 25-26. 'Pom- 
garnet' is the spelling in the early Quartos and the Folios and prob- 
ably was intended to show the drawer's pronunciation. 

44. by'r lady: by our Lady. A common oath, referring to 
Saint Mary the Virgin. Quartos and Folios have 'berlady.' 



56 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

Francis. Let me see — about Michaelmas next I 
shall be — 

Poins. [Within] Francis! 55 

Francis Anon, sir. Pray stay a little, my lord. 

Prince Henry. Nay, but hark you, Francis : for the 
sugar thou gavest me, 'twas a pennyworth, wast't not ? 

Francis. O Lord, I would it had been two ! 59 

Prince Henry. I will give thee for it a thousand 
pound : ask me when thou wilt, and thou shalt have it. 

Poins. [Within] Francis! 

Francis. Anon, anon. 

Prince Henry. Anon, Francis ? No, Francis ; but 
to-morrow, Francis ; or Francis, o' Thursday ; or indeed, 
Francis, when thou wilt. But, Francis! 66 

Francis. My lord? 

Prince Henry. Wilt thou rob this leathern jerkin, 
crystal-button, not-pated, agate-ring, puke-stocking, 
caddis-garter, smooth-tongue, Spanish-pouch, — 70 

Francis. O Lord, sir, who do you mean? 

Prince Henry. Why, then, your brown bastard is 
your only drink ; for look you, Francis, your white can- 

53. Michaelmas: the festival of St. Michael and All Angels. 

68-70. Wilt thou . . . Spanish-pouch. The prince refers to 
Francis's master, to whom he applies these contemptuous epithets. 
— crystal-button. Vintners wore crystal-buttoned jerkins. — not- 
pated. Either 'with close-cropped hair,' or 'bull-headed' (cf. 
' knotty-pated,' line 228). In Chaucer's Prologue the Yeoman is 
described as having a 'not-heed.' — puke-stocking: dark-colored 
stocking. 'Puke' is a color between russet and black. — caddis- 
garter. 'Caddis' was a kind of worsted lace or ribbon. — Spanish- 
pouch. Variously interpreted as 'fat-bellied,' or 'wine-bag' (i.e. 
drunkard), or as referring to the vintner's dress. 

72. brown bastard. 'Bastard' wine was either white or brown. 



scene iv HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 57 

vas doublet will sully : in Barbary, sir, it cannot come to 
so much. 75 

Francis. What, sir? 
Poins. [Within] Francis! 

Prince Henry. Away, you rogue ! dost thou not hear 
them call ? 

Here they both call him; the drawer stands 
amazed, not knowing which way to go 

Enter Vintner 

Vintner. What, standest thou still, and hearest such 
a calling? Look to the guests within. [Exit Francis] 
My lord, old Sir John, with half-a-dozen more, are at 
the door : shall I let them in ? 83 

Prince Henry. Let them alone awhile, and then open 
the door. [Exit Vintner] Poins ! 

Re-enter Poins 

Poins. Anon, anon, sir. 

Prince Henry. Sirrah, Falstaff and the rest of the 
thieves are at the door : shall we be merry ? 88 

Poins. As merry as crickets, my lad. But hark ye; 
what cunning match have you made with this jest of the 
drawer? come, what's the issue? 

Prince Henry. I am now of all humours that have 

74-75. in Barbary ... so much. Making a remark or asking 
a question utterly irrelevant to the matter in hand is an old trick 
of humor. In I, ii, 38-39, we had it in the question, "And is not 
my hostess of the tavern a most sweet wench ? " Here it is used for 
the purpose of mystifying poor Francis. Ben Jonson calls this kind 
of humor "a game of vapours." 



58 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

show'd themselves humours since the old days of good- 
man Adam to the pupil age of this present twelve o'clock 
at midnight. 95 

[Re-enter Francis] 

What's o'clock, Francis? 

Francis. Anon, anon, sir. Exit 

Prince Henry. That ever this fellow should have 
fewer words than a parrot, and yet the son of a woman ! 
His industry is up-stairs and down-stairs ; his eloquence 
the parcel of a reckoning. I am not yet of Percy's mind, 
the Hotspur of the north ; he that kills me some six or 
seven dozen of Scots at a breakfast, washes his hands, 
and says to his wife * Fie upon this quiet life ! I want 
work.' *0 my sweet Harry,' says she, 'how many hast 
thou killed to-day?' 'Give my roan horse a drench,' 
says he ; and answers 5 Some fourteen,' an hour after ; 
'a trifle, a trifle.' I prithee, call in Falstaff ; I'll play 
Percy, and that damn'd brawn shall play Dame Mortimer 
his wife. ' Rivo ! ' says the drunkard. Call in ribs, call 
in tallow. m 

Enter Falstaff, [Gadshill, Bardolph, and Peto ; 
Francis following with wine] 

Poins. Welcome, Jack: where hast thou been? 
Falstaff. A plague of all cowards, I say, and a ven- 
geance too ! marry, and amen ! Give me a cup of sack, 

112. Scene IX Pope. 

102. me. The ethical dative. See Abbott, § 220. 

109. brawn. A reference to Falstaff's plumpness and rotundity. 

no. Rivo! An exclamation, apparently of Spanish origin. 



scene iv HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 59 

boy. Ere I lead this life long, I'll sew nether stocks and 
mend them and foot them too. A plague of all cowards ! 
Give me a cup of sack, rogue. Is there no virtue extant ? 

He drinks 

Prince Henry. Didst thou never see Titan kiss a 
dish of butter? pitiful-hearted Titan, that melted at the 
sweet tale of the sun's ! if thou didst, then behold that 
compound. 121 

Falstaff. You rogue, here's lime in this sack too; 
there is nothing but roguery to be found in villainous 
man : yet a coward is worse than a cup of sack with 
lime in it. A villainous coward ! Go thy ways, old Jack ; 
die when thou wilt, if manhood, good manhood, be not 
forgot upon the face of the earth, then am I a shotten 
herring. There live not three good men unhang'd in 
England ; and one of them is fat and grows old : God 
help the while ! a bad world, I say. I would I were a 
weaver; I could sing psalms or any thing. A plague of 
all cowards, I say still. 132 

116. foot ... too Q x I Ff omit. 131. psalms . . . thing Q x | all 

125. in it Q L I Ff omit. manner of songs Ff. 

115. nether stocks: short stockings. So in King Lear, II, iv, 11. 

118. Titan: the sun-god, the sun. For 'Titan' in the next line 
Theobald substituted 'butter.' Warburton suggested that 'pitiful- 
hearted Titan' should be parenthetic, and so 'that' would refer back 
to the 'butter.' 

122. lime . . . sack. Putting lime in sack and other wines ap- 
pears to have been a common device for making them seem fresh 
and sparkling, when in truth they were spiritless and stale. Eliot, in 
his Orthoepia (1593), says: "The vintners of London put in lime, 
and thence proceed infinite maladies, especially the gouts." 

127. shotten: spawned (and therefore lean and worthless). 

131. weaver . . . anything. Weavers are mentioned in Twelfth 
Night, II, iii, 61, as lovers of music. Many of the refugees from 



60 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

Prince Henry. How now, wool-sack ! what mutter 
you? 

Falstaff. A king's son ! If I do not beat thee out of 
thy kingdom with a dagger of lath, and drive all thy 
subjects afore thee like a flock of wild-geese, I'll never 
wear hair on my face more. You Prince of Wales! 138 

Prince Henry. Why, you whoreson round man, 
what's the matter? 

Falstaff. Are not you a coward ? answer me to that : 
and Poins there? 

Poins. 'Zounds, ye fat paunch, and ye call me coward, 
by the Lord, I'll stab thee. 144 

Falstaff. I call thee coward ! I'll see thee damn'd 
ere I call thee coward : but I would give a thousand 
pound I could run as fast as thou canst. You are straight 
enough in the shoulders, you care not who sees your 
back : call you that backing of your friends ? A plague 
upon such backing ! give me them that will face me. 
Give me a cup of sack ; I am a rogue, if I drunk to-day. 

Prince Henry. O villain! thy lips are scarce wip'd 
since thou drunk'st last. 153 

Falstaff. All's one for that. (He drinks) A plague 
of all cowards, still say I. 

Prince Henry. What's the matter? 

144. by the Lord Q t | Ff omit. 

Flanders who fled from the persecutions of the Duke of Alva were 
weavers, and, being Calvinists, were distinguished for their love of 
psalmody. 

136. dagger of lath. The kind of weapon given to the Vice in 
the old miracle plays and moral plays ; hence it came to be a theme 
of frequent allusion. Cf. Twelfth Night, IV, ii, 134. 



scene iv HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 61 

Falstaff. What's the matter! there be four of us 
here have ta'en a thousand pound this day morning. 

Prince Henry. Where is it, Jack? where is it? 

Falstaff. Where is it ! taken from us it is : a hun- 
dred upon poor four of us. 161 

Prince Henry. What, a hundred, man? 

Falstaff. I am a rogue, if I were not at half-sword 
with a dozen of them two hours together. I have 
scaped by miracle. I am eight times thrust through the 
doublet, four through the hose ; my buckler cut through 
and through ; my sword hack'd like a hand-saw — ecce 
signum! I never dealt better since I was a man: all 
would not do. A plague of all cowards! Let them 
speak: if they speak more or less than truth, they are 
villains and the sons of darkness. 171 

Prince Henry. Speak, sirs ; how was it ? 

Gadshill. We four set upon some dozen — 

Falstaff. Sixteen at least, my lord. 

Gadshill. And bound them. 175 

Peto. No, no, they were not bound. 

Falstaff. You rogue, they were bound, every man 
of them ; or I am a Jew else, an Ebrew Jew. 

Gadshill. As we were sharing, some six or seven 
fresh men set upon us — 1S0 

Falstaff. And unbound the rest, and then come in 
the other. 

Prince Henry. What, fought you with them all ? 

163. at half-sword : at half the length of the sword, at close 
quarters with swords. A term of fencing. 

167-168. ecce signum : behold the proof. The expression was 
used in the ritual of the Church. 



62 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

Falstaff. All ! I know not what you call all ; but if 
I fought not with fifty of them, I am a bunch of radish : 
if there were not two or three and fifty upon poor old 
Jack, then am I no two-legg'd creature. 187 

Prince Henry. Pray God you have not murd'red 
some of them. 

Falstaff. Nay, that's past praying for: I have pep- 
per'd two of them; two I am sure I have paid, two 
rogues in buckram suits. I tell thee what, Hal, if I tell 
thee a lie, spit in my face, call me horse. Thou knowest 
my old ward ; here I lay, and thus I bore my point. Four 
rogues in buckram let drive at me — 195 

Prince Henry. What, four ? thou saidst but two even 
now. 

Falstaff. Four, Hal ; I told thee four. 

Poins. Ay, ay, he said four. 199 

Falstaff. These four came all a-front, and mainly 
thrust at me. I made me no more ado but took all their 
seven points in my target, thus. 

Prince Henry. Seven? why, there were but four 
even now. 

Falstaff. In buckram? 205 

Poins. Ay, four, in buckram suits. 

Falstaff. Seven, by these hilts, or I am a villain else. 

Prince Henry. Prithee, let him alone ; we shall have 
more anon. 

Falstaff. Dost thou hear me, Hal? 210 

194. ward: posture of defense. His usual mode of 'warding' 
off the adversary's blows. Cf. I, ii, 191. 

200. mainly: violently, mightily, with might and main. 

207. hilts. For the plural applied to a single sword, cf . Henry V, 
II, Chorus, 9. 



scene iv HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 63 

Prince Henry. Ay, and mark thee too, Jack. 

Falstaff. Do so, for it is worth the listening to. 
These nine in buckram that I told thee of — 

Prince Henry. So, two more already. 

Falstaff. Their points being broken, — 215 

Poins. Down fell their hose. 

Falstaff. Began to give me ground: but I follow'd 
me close, came in foot and hand ; and with a thought 
seven of the eleven I paid. 219 

Prince Henry. O monstrous ! eleven buckram men 
grown out of two ! 

Falstaff. But, as the devil would have it, three 
misbegotten knaves in Kendal green came at my back 
and let drive at me ; for it was so dark, Hal, that thou 
couldst not see thy hand. 225 

Prince Henry. These lies are like their father that 
begets them ; gross as a mountain, open, palpable. Why, 
thou clay-brain'd guts, thou knotty-pated fool, thou 
whoreson, obscene, greasy tallow-catch, — 229 

Falstaff. What, art thou mad? art thou mad? is 
not the truth the truth? 

Prince Henry. Why, how couldst thou know these 
men in Kendal green, when it was so dark thou couldst 
not see thy hand ? come, tell us your reason : what say'st 
thou to this? 235 

215-216. points . . . hose. Falstaff uses the word 'point' for 
the 'sharp end of a weapon'; Poins uses it for the 'tagged lace' 
with which garments were then fastened. 

223. Kendal green. The livery of Robin Hood and his men. 
The color took its name from Kendal, in Westmoreland, formerly 
celebrated for its cloth manufacture. 

22g. tallow-catch. Probably a tub of tallow. 



64 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

Poins. Come, your reason, Jack, your reason. 

Falstaff. What, upon compulsion? 'Zounds, and I 
were at the strappado, or all the racks in the world, I 
would not tell you on compulsion. Give you a reason on 
compulsion ! if reasons were as plentiful as blackberries, 
I would give no man a reason upon compulsion, I. 241 

Prince Henry. I'll be no longer guilty of this sin ; 
this sanguine coward, this bed-presser, this horse-back- 
breaker, this huge hill of flesh, — 244 

Falstaff. 'Sblood, you starveling, you elf-skin, you 
dried neat's tongue, you stock-fish ! O for breath to utter 
what is like thee ! you tailor's-yard, you sheath, you bow- 
case, you vile standing-tuck, — 

Prince Henry. Well, breathe awhile, and then to it 
again : and when thou hast tir'd thyself in base compari- 
sons, hear me speak but this. 251 

Poins. Mark, Jack. 

Prince Henry. We two saw you four set on four and 

251. this Q x I thus Ff. 

238. strappado. A military punishment of Spanish origin, de- 
scribed by Randle Holme in his Armoury (1688) as follows: "The 
person is drawn up to his height, and then suddenly to let him fall 
half-way with a jerk . . . which punishment is better to be hanged 
than for a man to undergo." 

240. reasons. 'Reason' and 'raisin' were pronounced alike. 

245. elf-skin. Hanmer suggested 'eel-skin,' and this reading has 
been adopted by many editors. 

248. standing-tuck. 'Tuck 'was one of the names for a straight, 
slim sword, or rapier. This and the foregoing terms are applied to 
the prince in allusion to his slenderness of person. Shakespeare had 
historical authority for this; as Stowe says of the prince, "He ex- 
ceeded the mean stature of men, his neck long, body slender and 
lean, and his bones small." 



scene iv HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 65 

bound them, and were masters of their wealth. Mark 
now, how a plain tale shall put you down. Then did we 
two set on you four ; and, with a word, out-fac'd you 
from your prize, and have it ; yea, and can show it you 
here in the house: and, Falstaff, you carried your guts 
away as nimbly, with as quick dexterity, and roar'd for 
mercy and still run and roar'd, as ever I heard bull-calf. 
What a slave art thou, to hack thy sword as thou hast 
done, and then say it was in fight ! What trick, what 
device, what starting-hole, canst thou now find out to 
hide thee from this open and apparent shame? 264 

Poins. Come, let's hear, Jack; what trick hast thou 
now? 

Falstaff. By the Lord, I knew ye as well as he that 
made ye. Why, hear you, my masters : was it for me to 
kill the heir-apparent? should I turn upon the true 
prince ? why, thou knowest I am as valiant as Hercules : 
but beware instinct ; the lion will not touch the true 
prince. Instinct is a great matter ; I was now a coward 
on instinct. I shall think the better of myself and thee 
during my life ; I for a valiant lion, and thou for a true 
prince. But, by the Lord, lads, I am glad you have the 
money. Hostess, clap to the doors : watch to-night, pray 
to-morrow. Gallants, lads, boys, hearts of gold, all the 
titles of good fellowship come to you ! What, shall we 
be merry? shall we have a play extempore? 279 

Prince Henry. Content ; and the argument shall be 
thy running away. 

Falstaff. Ah, no more of that, Hal, and thou lovest 
me! 

271-272. lion . . . prince. A very popular mediaeval belief. 



66 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

Enter Hostess 

Hostess. O Jesu, my lord the prince! 284 

Prince Henry. How now, my lady the hostess ! what 
say'st thou to me? 

Hostess. Marry, my lord, there is a nobleman of 
the court at door would speak with you : he says he 
comes from your father. 289 

Prince Henry. Give him as much as will make him a 
royal man, and send him back again to my mother. 

Falstaff. What manner of man is he ? 

Hostess. An old man. 

Falstaff. What doth gravity out of his bed at mid- 
night? Shall I give him his answer? 295 

Prince Henry. Prithee, do, Jack. 

Falstaff. Faith, and I'll send him packing. < Exit 

Prince Henry. Now, sirs : by'r lady, you fought 
fair ; so did you, Peto ; so did you, Bardolph : you are 
lions too, you ran away upon instinct, you will not touch 
the true prince ; no, fie ! 301 

Bardolph. Faith, I ran when I saw others run. 

284. Scene X Pope. 

285. my lady the hostess. A sportive rejoinder to her 'my 
lord the prince.' Cf. Richard II, V, v, 67. 

291. royal man. The hostess has just called the messenger a 
'nobleman.' The prince refers to this, and at the same time plays 
on the words 'royal man.' 'Royal' and 'noble' were names of 
coin, the one being 105., the other 65. Sd. If, then, the messenger 
were already a 'noble' man, 35. \d. would make him a 'royal' man. 
Hearne relates how "Mr. John Blower, in a sermon before her 
Majesty, first said, 'My royal queen,' and a little after, 'My noble 
queen.' Upon which says the queen, 'What, am I ten groats worse 
than I was?'" 



scene iv HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 67 

Prince Henry. Faith, tell me now in earnest, how 
came Falstaff's sword so hack'd ? 

Peto. Why, he hack'd it with his dagger, and said he 
would swear truth out of England but he would make you 
believe it was done in fight, and persuaded us to do the 
like. 308 

Bardolph. Yea, and to tickle our noses with spear- 
grass to make them bleed, and then to beslubber our 
garments with it and swear it was the blood of true men. 
I did that I did not this seven year before, I blush 'd to 
hear his monstrous devices. 313 

Prince Henry. O villain, thou stolest a cup of sack 
eighteen years ago, and wert taken with the manner, and 
ever since thou hast blush'd extempore. Thou hadst fire 
and sword on thy side, and yet thou ran'st away : what 
instinct hadst thou for it? 

Bardolph. My lord, do you see these meteors? do 
you behold these exhalations ? 320 

[Pointing to his own face] 

Prince Henry. I do. 

Bardolph. What think you they portend ? 

Prince Henry. Hot livers and cold purses. 

Bardolph. Choler, my lord, if rightly taken. 

Prince Henry. No, if rightly taken, halter. 325 

311. true men. 'True' for 'honest.' Cf. II, i, 89, and see note. 

315. with the manner: in the act. A legal phrase. 

316. fire. The prince means the fire in Bardolph's face. 
320. 'Exhalation' in Shakespeare always means 'meteor.' 
323. Hot . . . purses. Hard drinking and poverty. 
324-325. Choler . . . halter. A quibble here between 'choler' 

and 'collar' and a play on the double meaning of 'rightly taken'; 
i.e. 'correctly understood' and 'cleverly captured.' 



68 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

Re-enter Falstaff 

Here comes lean Jack, here comes bare-bone. How now, 
my sweet creature of bombast ! How long is't ago, Jack, 
since thou sawest thine own knee? 

Falstaff. My own knee ! when I was about thy years, 
Hal, I was not an eagle's talon in the waist ; I could have 
crept into any alderman's thumb-ring: a plague of sigh- 
ing and grief ! it blows a man up like a bladder. There's 
villainous news abroad : here was Sir John Bracy from 
your father ; you must to the court in the morning. 
That same mad fellow of the north, Percy, and he of 
Wales, that gave Amamon the bastinado and swore the 
devil his true liegeman upon the cross of a Welsh hook — 
what a plague call you him? 338 

Poins. O, Glendower. 

Falstaff. Owen, Owen, the same ; and his son-in-law 
Mortimer, and old Northumberland, and that sprightly 
Scot of Scots, Douglas, that runs o' horseback up a hill 
perpendicular, — 

Prince Henry. He that rides at high speed and with 
his pistol kills a sparrow flying. 345 

Falstaff. You have hit it. 

Prince Henry. So did he never the sparrow. 

326. Scene XI Pope. 

327. bombast : cotton. Gerard (Herbale, 1597) calls the cotton- 
plant the 'bombaste' tree. It is here used for 'stuffing of clothes.' 

336. Amamon. A demon, described in Scot's Discoverie (1584) 
as one of the four who rule over all the other fiends. 

337- Welsh hook: a kind of hedging-bill made with a hook at 
the end, and a long handle like the partisan or halbert. 

345. pistol. Johnson points out an anachronism here. Pistols 



scene iv HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 69 

Falstaff. Well, that rascal hath good mettle in him ; 
he will not run. 349 

Prince Henry. Why, what a rascal art thou then, 
to praise him so for running ! 

Falstaff. O' horseback, ye cuckoo ; but afoot he 
will not budge a foot. 

Prince Henry. Yes, Jack, upon instinct. 354 

Falstaff. I grant ye, upon instinct. Well, he is 
there too, and one Mordake, and a thousand blue-caps 
more : Worcester is stolen away to-night ; thy father's 
beard is turn'd white with the news : you may buy land 
now as cheap as stinking mackerel. But tell me, Hal, 
art not thou horrible afeard? thou being heir-apparent, 
could the world pick thee out three such enemies again 
as that fiend Douglas, that spirit Percy, and that devil 
Glendower? Art thou not horribly afraid? doth not thy 
blood thrill at it? 364 

Prince Henry. Not a whit, i' faith ; I lack some of 
thy instinct. 

Falstaff. Well, thou wilt be horribly chid to-morrow 
when thou comest to thy father : if thou love me, practise 
an answer. 

Prince Henry. Do thou stand for my father, and ex- 
amine me upon the particulars of my life. 371 

Falstaff. Shall I ? content : this chair shall be my 
state, this dagger my sceptre, and this cushion my crown. 

were not in use in the time of Henry IV. The anachronism is re- 
peated in Falstaff's speech, V, iii, 50. 

356. blue-caps. The 'blue-cap' was of old the national head- 
dress of Scottish soldiers. The Scotsmen themselves are here ap- 
propriately called c blue-caps.' 

373. state: chair of state. Cf. Macbeth, III, iv, 5. 



70 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

Prince Henry. Thy state is taken for a join'd-stool, 
thy golden sceptre for a leaden dagger, and thy precious 
rich crown for a pitiful bald crown ! 376 

Falstaff. Well, and the fire of grace be not quite 
out of thee, now shalt thou be mov'd. Give me a cup of 
sack to make my eyes look red, that it may be thought 
I have wept ; for I must speak in passion, and I will do 
it in King Cambyses' vein. 381 

Prince Henry. Well, here is my leg. 

Falstaff. And here is my speech. Stand aside, 
nobility. 

Hostess. O Jesu, this is excellent sport, i' faith ! 385 

Falstaff. Weep not, sweet queen; for trickling 
tears are vain. 

Hostess. O, the father, how he holds his countenance ! 

Falstaff. For God's sake, lords, convey my tristful 
queen ; 
For tears do stop the flood-gates of her eyes. 

Hostess . O Jesu, he doth it as like one of these 
harlotry players as ever I see! 391 

388. tristful Rowe | trustfull Q^L 

374. join'd-stool: joint-stool, a kind of folding-chair. 

380. passion: suffering. The original (Latin) meaning. So in 
line 410. 

381. King Cambyses* vein. The banter is here on the play called 
A Lamentable Tragedie mixed full of Pleasant Mirthe, containing 
the Life of Cambises, King of Persia, by Thomas Preston, printed 
in 1570 but acted earlier. 

382. leg: bow of reverence, obeisance. 

388. tristful: sorrowful, grieving. Rowe's famous emendation of 
the 'trustfull' of Quartos and Folios. Cf. Hamlet, III, iv, 50. 

391. harlotry. Sometimes used adjectively as a general term of 
reproach; hore probably in the sense of 'vagabond.' 



scene iv HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 71 

Falstaff. Peace, good pint-pot ; peace, good tickle- 
brain. Harry, I do not only marvel where thou spendest 
thy time, but also how thou art accompanied : for though 
the camomile, the more it is trodden on the faster it 
grows, yet youth, the more it is wasted the sooner it 
wears. That thou art my son, I have partly thy mother's 
word, partly my own opinion, but chiefly a villainous trick 
of thine eye and a foolish hanging of thy nether lip, that 
doth warrant me. If then thou be son to me, here lies 
the point ; why, being son to me, art thou so pointed at ? 
Shall the blessed sun of heaven prove a micher and eat 
blackberries? a question not to be ask'd. Shall the son 
of England prove a thief and take purses ? a question to 
be ask'd. There is a thing, Harry, which thou hast often 
heard of and it is known to many in our land by the 
name of pitch : this pitch, as ancient writers do report, 
doth defile ; so doth the company thou keepest : for, 
Harry, now I do not speak to thee in drink but in tears, 
not in pleasure but in passion, not in words only, but in 
woes also : and yet there is a virtuous man whom I have 
often noted in thy company, but I know not his name. 

392-393. tickle-brain. A slang term for some potent kind of 
liquor. Falstaff here addresses the hostess. 

394. From here to the end of the speech is a clever travesty 
of Euphuism. The passage about the camomile is borrowed from 
Lyly ; it had already been imitated by Greene in Philomela (i595)- 

402. micher : truant. Cf. Lyly's Mother Bombie (1594) : "How 
like a micher he stands, as if he had trewanted from honestie." 
In Akerman's Glossary of Provincial Words and Phrases we find : 
"Moocher. — A truant; a blackberry moucher. A boy who plays 
truant to pick blackberries." 

407-408. pitch . . . defile. "He that toucheth pitch shall be 
defiled therewith." — Ecclesiasticus, xiii, 1. 



72 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

Prince Henry. What manner of man, and it like your 
majesty? 414 

Falstaff. A goodly portly man, i' faith, and a corpu- 
lent ; of a cheerful look, a pleasing eye and a most noble 
carriage ; and, as I think, his age some fifty, or, by'r 
lady, inclining to three score ; and now I remember me, 
his name is Falstaff : if that man should be lewdly given, 
he deceiveth me ; for, Harry, I see virtue in his looks. 
If then the tree may be known by the fruit, as the fruit 
by the tree, then, peremptorily I speak it, there is virtue 
in that Falstaff: him keep with, the rest banish. And 
tell me now, thou naughty varlet, tell me, where hast 
thou been this month? 425 

Prince Henry. Dost thou speak like a king? Do 
thou stand for me, and I'll play my father. 

Falstaff. Depose me? if thou dost it half so gravely, 
so majestically, both in word and matter, hang me up by 
the heels for a rabbit-sucker or a poulter's hare. 430 

Prince Henry. Well, here I am set. 

Falstaff. And here I stand : judge, my masters. 

Prince Henry. Now, Harry, whence come you? 

Falstaff. My noble lord, from Eastcheap. 

Prince Henry. The complaints I hear of thee are 
grievous. 43 6 

Falstaff. 'Sblood, my lord, they are false: nay, I'll 
tickle ye for a young prince, i' faith. 

Prince Henry. Swearest thou, ungracious boy? 
henceforth ne'er look on me. Thou art violently carried 
away from grace : there is a devil haunts thee in the like- 

437- 'Sblood Q 1 I Yfaith FjFg. 438. i'faith Q l | Ff omit. 

430. rabbit-sucker: sucking rabbit. — poulter : poulterer. 



scene iv HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 73 

ness of an old fat man ; a tun of man is thy companion. 
Why dost thou converse with that trunk of humours, that 
bolting-hutch of beastliness, that swollen parcel of drop- 
sies, that huge bombard of sack, that stuff'd cloak-bag of 
guts, that roasted Manningtree ox with the pudding in 
his belly, that reverend vice, that grey iniquity, that 
father ruffian, that vanity in years ? Wherein is he good, 
but to taste sack and drink it ? wherein neat and cleanly, 
but to carve a capon and eat it? wherein cunning, but 
in craft ? wherein crafty, but in villainy ? wherein villain- 
ous, but in all things? wherein worthy, but in nothing? 

Falstaff. I would your grace would take me with 
you: whom means your grace? 454 

Prince Henry. That villainous abominable misleader 
of youth, Falstaff, that old white-bearded Satan. 

Falstaff. My lord, the man I know. 

Prince Henry. I know thou dost. 458 

444. bolting-hutch: trough or tub into which meal is bolted. 

445. bombard: large leather bottle for holding liquor. 
446-447. roasted Manningtree ox . . . belly. Manningtree in 

Essex was noted for its fine pastures and large oxen, and had the 
privilege of holding fairs on condition that every year there should 
be given a certain number of stage-plays. These were associated 
with great feasting and general festivities, and the roasting of 
oxen whole was common. These plays retained many of the alle- 
gorical characters of the old moral plays, including such as are 
mentioned in the next line, the 'Vice,' 'Iniquity,' 'Ruffian,' and 
'Vanity.' Malone quotes in this connection Nash, The Choosing 
of Valentines : or gee a of stnmge moralitie; 

Showen by bachelrie of Manningtree, 

Whereto the country franklins flock-meale swarme. 

450. cunning: knowing, skillful. Cf. Romeo and Juliet, IV, ii, 2. 
453-454. take me with you : let me understand you. 



74 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act n 

Falstaff. But to say I know more harm in him than 
in myself, were to say more than I know. That he is old, 
the more the pity, his white hairs do witness it. If sack 
and sugar be a fault, God help the wicked ! if to be old 
and merry be a sin, then many an old host that I know 
is damned : if to be fat be to be hated, then Pharaoh's 
lean kine are to be loved. No, my good lord ; banish 
Peto, banish Bardolph, banish Poins : but for sweet Jack 
Falstaff, kind Jack Falstaff, true Jack Falstaff, valiant 
Jack Falstaff, and therefore more valiant, being, as he 
is, old Jack Falstaff, banish not him thy Harry's com- 
pany, banish not him thy Harry's company: banish 
plump Jack, and banish all the world. 47I 

Prince Henry. I do, I will. 

[A knocking heard. Exeunt Hostess, Francis, 

and Bardolph] 
Re-enter Bardolph, running 

Bardolph. O, my lord, my lord ! the sheriff with a 
most monstrous watch is at the door. 

Falstaff. Out, ye rogue ! Play out the play : I have 
much to say in the behalf of that Falstaff. 47 6 

Re-enter the Hostess 

Hostess. O Jesu, my lord, my lord ! 

Prince Henry. Heigh, heigh ! the devil rides upon a 
fiddlestick: what's the matter? 

Hostess. The sheriff and all the watch are at the 
door: they are come to search the house. Shall I let 
them in? 482 

478-479. the devil . . . fiddlestick: here's a fine commotion. 
The later Quartos and the Folios give this speech to Falstaff. 



scene iv HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 75 

Falstaff. Dost thou hear, Hal ? never call a true 
piece of gold a counterfeit : thou art essentially mad, 
without seeming so. 485 

Prince Henry. And thou a natural coward, without 
instinct. 

Falstaff. I deny your major : if you will deny the 
sheriff, so ; if not, let him enter : if I become not a cart as 
well as another man, a plague on my bringing up ! I hope 
I shall as soon be strangled with a halter as another. 491 

Prince Henry. Go, hide thee behind the arras : the 
rest walk up above. Now, my masters, for a true face 
and good conscience. 494 

484. mad F 3 F 4 | made Q^F*. 

484-485. The probable meaning is : You are essentially, really, 
truly a madcap, and are not merely putting on the semblance or 
acting the part of one : it is a matter of character, and not of 
mere imitation, with you ; and to say you have but assumed the 
role of a make-sport for the fun and humor of it is like calling a 
true piece of gold a counterfeit. 

488. Falstaff has some knowledge of technical terms in logic, 
such as the major and minor premises of a syllogism or propo- 
sition. But he here uses 'major' in the sense of 'proposition,' 
putting a part for the whole. It would seem that 'major' and 
'mayor' were sounded much alike. So Falstaff makes a pun or 
quibble between 'major,' as a term in logic, and 'mayor,' as the 
head of a civic corporation, and the sheriff's official superior. So 
that his meaning is : I deny your statement, what you have just 
said or affirmed ; if you will deny the sheriff, very well. 

489. become . . . cart: do not adorn a hangman's cart. 

492. arras : tapestry. From Arras, a town in Artois. Tapestry 
was fixed on frames of wood at such distance from the wall as to 
keep it from being rotted by the dampness; large spaces were thus 
left between the arras and the walls, sufficient to contain even one 
of Falstaff's bulk. The old dramatists avail themselves of this con- 
venient hiding-place on all occasions. 



76 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

Falstaff. Both which I have had : but their date is 
out, and therefore I'll hide me. 

Prince Henry. Call in the sheriff. 

Exeunt all except the Prince and Peto 

Enter Sheriff and the Carrier 

Now, master sheriff, what is your will with me? 

Sheriff. First, pardon me, my lord. A hue and cry 
Hath followed certain men unto this house. 500 

Prince Henry. What men? 

Sheriff. One of them is well known, my gracious 
lord, 
A gross fat man. 

Carrier. As fat as butter. 

Prince Henry. The man, I do assure you, is not 
here; 
For I myself at this time have employ 'd him. 505 

And, sheriff, I will engage my word to thee 
That I will, by to-morrow dinner-time, 
Send him to answer thee, or any man, 
For any thing he shall be charg'd withal : 
And so let me entreat you leave the house. 510 

498. Scene XII Pope. 

504-505. Shakespeare has been blamed for putting this false- 
hood into the prince's mouth. The blame, whatever it be, should 
rather light on the prince ; and even he is to be blamed rather 
for what he has all along been doing than for What he now says. 
To have betrayed Falstaff, after what has passed between them, 
would have been something worse than telling a falsehood ; more 
wicked even, let alone the meanness of it. Shakespeare did not 
mean to represent the prince as altogether unhurt by his connec- 
tion with Sir John. 



scene iv HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 77 

Sheriff. I will, my lord. There are two gentlemen 
Have in this robbery lost three hundred marks. 

Prince Henry. It may be so: if he have robb'd 
these men, 
He shall be answerable ; and so farewell. 

Sheriff. Good night, my noble lord. 515 

Prince Henry. I think it is good morrow, is it not ? 
Sheriff. Indeed, my lord, I think it be two o'clock. 

Exeunt [Sheriff and Carrier] 
Prince Henry. This oily rascal is known as well as 
Paul's. Go, call him forth. 

Peto. Falstaff! — Fast asleep behind the arras, and 

snorting like a horse. 5 21 

Prince Henry. Hark, how hard he fetches breath. 

Search his pockets. (He searcheth his pockets, and find- 

eth certain papers) What hast thou found ? 

Peto. Nothing but papers, my lord. 525 

Prince Henry. Let's see what they be: read them. 

Peto. [Reads] Item, A capon, 2s. 2d. 

Item, Sauce, 4 d . 

Item, Sack, two gallons, ... 5s. 8d. 
Item, Anchovies and sack after 

supper, 2s. 6d. 

Item, Bread, ob. 

Prince Henry. O monstrous ! but one half-penny- 
worth of bread to this intolerable deal of sack! What 
there is else, keep close ; we'll read it at more advantage : 

519. Paul's: St. Paul's Church or Cathedral. The nave was a 
place of general resort. Cf. 2 Henry IV, I, ii, 58. 

520. Johnson and many editors transfer to Poins this and the 
following speeches ascribed to Peto in the Quartos and Folios. 

532. ob: obolus. A Greek coin, here used for halfpenny. 



78 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ir 

there let him sleep till day. I'll to the court in the 
morning. We must all to the wars, and thy place shall 
be honourable. I'll procure this fat rogue a charge of 
foot ; and I know his death will be a march of twelve- 
score. The money shall be paid back again with advan- 
tage. Be with me betimes in the morning ; and so, good 
morrow, Peto. 542 

Peto. Good morrow, good my lord. Exeunt 

539-540. his death . . . twelve-score: a march of twelve- 
score yards will be his death. 



ACT III 

Scene I. [Bangor. The Archdeacon's house] 

Enter Hotspur, Worcester, Mortimer, and 
Glendower 

Mortimer. These promises are fair, the parties sure, 
And our induction full of prosperous hope. 

Hotspur. Lord Mortimer, and cousin Glendower, 
Will you sit down? 

And uncle Worcester: a plague upon it! 5 

I have forgot the map. 

Glendower. No, here it is. 

Sit, cousin Percy ; sit, good cousin Hotspur, 
For by that name as oft as Lancaster 
Doth speak of you, his cheek looks pale and with 
A rising sigh he wisheth you in heaven. 10 

Hotspur. And you in hell, as oft as he hears Owen 
Glendower spoke of. 

Glendower. I cannot blame him : at my nativity 
The front of heaven was full of fiery shapes, 
Of burning cressets; and at my birth 15 

The frame and huge foundation of the earth 
Shaked like a coward. 

2. induction: commencement, beginning. The introductory scene 
of a play was called the 'induction.' Cf. Richard III, IV, iv, 5. 

15. cressets : fire-baskets used as beacons, and sometimes as 
torches to light processions. 

79 



80 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act in 

Hotspur. Why, so it would have done at the same 
season, if your mother's cat had but kitten'd, though 
yourself had never been born. 20 

Glendower. I say the earth did shake when I was born. 

Hotspur. And I say the earth was not of my mind, 
If you suppose as fearing you it shook. 

Glendower. The heavens were all on fire, the earth 
did tremble. 

Hotspur. O, then the earth shook to see the heavens 
on fire, 25 

And not in fear of your nativity. 
Diseased nature oftentimes breaks forth 
In strange eruptions ; oft the teeming earth 
Is with a kind of colic pinch'd and vex'd 
By the imprisoning of unruly wind 30 

Within her womb ; which, for enlargement striving, 
Shakes the old beldam earth and topples down 
Steeples and moss-grown towers. At your birth 
Our grandam earth, having this distemperature, 
In passion shook. 

Glendower. Cousin, of many men 35 

I do not bear these crossings. Give me leave 
To tell you once again that at my birth 
The front of heaven was full of fiery shapes, 
The goats ran from the mountains, and the herds 
Were strangely clamorous to the frighted fields. 40 

These signs have mark'd me extraordinary ; 
And all the courses of my life do show 
I am not in the roll of common men. 
Where is he living, clipp'd in with the sea 

34. distemperature: disorder. So in V, i, 3. 



scene i HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 81 

That chides the banks of England, Scotland, Wales, 45 
Which calls me pupil, or hath read to me ? 
And bring him out that is but woman's son 
Can trace me in the tedious ways of art 
And hold me pace in deep experiments. 

Hotspur. I think there 's no man speaks better Welsh. 
I'll to dinner. 5I 

Mortimer. Peace, cousin Percy ; you will make him 
mad. 

Glendower. I can call spirits from the vasty deep. 
• Hotspur. Why, so can I, or so can any man ; 
But will they come when you do call for them? 55 

Glendower. Why, I can teach you, cousin, to 
command 
The devil. 

Hotspur. And I can teach thee, coz, to shame the 
devil 
By telling truth : tell truth and shame the devil. i 

If thou have power to raise him, bring him hither, 60 

And I'll be sworn I have power to shame him hence. 
O, while you live, tell truth and shame the devil ! 

Mortimer. Come, come, no more of this unprofitable 
chat. 

Glendower. Three times hath Henry Bolingbroke 
made head 
Against my power ; thrice from the banks of Wye 65 
And sandy-bottom'd Severn have I sent him 
Bootless home and weather-beaten back. 

Hotspur. Home without boots, and in foul weather too ! 
How scapes he agues, in the devil's name? 

64-65. made head Against: attacked in force. 



82 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act in 

Glendower. Come, here's the map: shall we divide 
our right 70 

According to our threefold order ta'en ? 

Mortimer. The archdeacon hath divided it 
Into three limits very equally : 
England, from Trent and Severn hitherto, 
By south and east is to my part assign 'd : 75 

All westward, Wales beyond the Severn shore, 
And all the fertile land within that bound, 
To Owen Glendower : and, dear coz, to you 
The remnant northward, lying off from Trent. 
And our indentures tripartite are drawn ; 80 

Which being sealed interchangeably, 
A business that this night may execute, 
To-morrow, cousin Percy, you and I 
And my good Lord of Worcester will set forth 
To meet your father and the Scottish power, 85 

As is appointed us, at Shrewsbury. 
My father Glendower is not ready yet, 
Nor shall we need his help these fourteen days. 
Within that space you may have drawn together 
Your tenants, friends and neighbouring gentlemen. 90 

Glendower. A shorter time shall send me to you, 
lords : 
And in my conduct shall your ladies come ; 
From whom you now must steal and take no leave, 

74. hitherto : up to this point. His finger is on the map. 

80. indentures tripartite are drawn : the agreement having 
three parties to it is drawn up in three corresponding copies. Hol- 
inshed speaks of the 'tripartite indenture.' 

81. sealed interchangeably. Each copy was to be sealed and 
signed by all three. 



scene i HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 83 

For there will be a world of water shed 

Upon the parting of your wives and you. 95 

Hotspur. Methinks my moiety, north from Burton 
here, 
In quantity equals not one of yours : 
See how this river comes me cranking in, 
And cuts me from the best of all my land 
A huge half-moon, a monstrous cantle out. 100 

I'll have the current in this place damm'd up ; 
And here the smug and silver Trent shall run 
In a new channel, fair and evenly ; 
It shall not wind with such a deep indent, 
To rob me of so rich a bottom here. 105 

Glendower. Not wind ? it shall, it must ; you see 
it doth. 

Mortimer. Yea, but 
Mark how he bears his course, and runs me up 
With like advantage on the other side; 
Gelding the opposed continent as much no 

As on the other side it takes from you. 

Worcester. Yea, but a little charge will trench him 
here 

100. cantle Ff | scantle Q v 

96. moiety. Properly a ' half -share,' but often used loosely, as 
here, to mean a 'share' or 'portion.' 

98. comes me cranking in : bends in on my share of the land. 

100. cantle: corner, segment. Cf. Antony and Cleopatra, III, 
x, 6 : "The greater cantle of the world is lost." 

105. bottom: intervale, alluvial land along a stream. 

no. Gelding: lopping, cutting off from. — continent. Used in 
a general sense for that which holds in or contains anything; 
hence the bank of a river. Cf. A Midsummer Night's Dream, II, 
i, 92. 



84 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act hi 

And on this north side win this cape of land ; 
And then he runs straight and even. 

Hotspur. I'll have it so : a little charge will do it. 115 

Glendower. I'll not have it alt'red. 

Hotspur. Will not you? 

Glendower. No, nor you shall not. 

Hotspur. Who shall say me nay ? 

Glendower. Why, that will I. 

Hotspur. Let me not understand you, then; speak 
it in Welsh. 120 

Glendower. I can speak English, lord, as well as you; 
For I was train 'd up in the English court ; 
Where, being but young, I framed to the harp 
Many an English ditty lovely well 
And gave the tongue a helpful ornament, 125 

A virtue that was never seen in you. 

Hotspur. Marry, 
And I am glad of it with all my heart : 
I had rather be a kitten and cry mew 
Than one of these same metre ballad-mongers; 130 

I had rather hear a brazen canstick turn'd, 
Or a dry wheel grate on the axle-tree ; 
And that would set my teeth nothing on edge, 
Nothing so much as mincing poetry : 
Tis like the forc'd gait of a shuffling nag. 135 

Glendower. Come, you shall have Trent turn'd. 

Hotspur. I do not care : I'll give thrice so much land 
To any well-deserving friend ; 
But in the way of bargain, mark ye me, 

131. canstick. The Quarto reading. A common contraction of 
1 candlestick,' which is the form of the word found in the Folios. 



scene I HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 85 

I'll cavil on the ninth part of a hair. 140 

Are the indentures drawn? shall we be gone? 

Glendower. The moon shines fair; you may away 
by night: 
I'll haste the writer and withal 
Break with your wives of your departure hence: 
I am afraid my daughter will run mad, 145 

So much she doteth on her Mortimer. Exit 

Mortimer. Fie, cousin Percy! how you cross my 
father ! 

Hotspur. I cannot choose : sometime he angers me 
With telling me of the moldwarp and the ant, 
Of the dreamer Merlin and his prophecies, 150 

And of a dragon and a finless fish, 
A clip-wing 'd griffin and a moulten raven, 
A couching lion and a ramping cat, 
And such a deal of skimble-skamble stuff 
As puts me from my faith. I tell you what; 155 

He held me last night at least nine hours 
In reckoning up the several devils' names 

147. Scene II Pope. 

143. writer. The writer of the indentures already mentioned. 

144. Break with: broach the subject to, inform. 

149. moldwarp: mole. 'Moldwarp' means literally 'earth thrower.' 

150. It would be hard to find a better description of much old 
Cymric verse than that in the lines which immediately follow. Mer- 
lin (Merrdhin) was the great magician whose "deep science and 
hell-dreaded might" were much celebrated in the ancient literature 
of Wales. Some of his wonderful doings, especially his magic mirror, 
are choicely sung in The Faerie Queene, III, ii. 

152. moulten. Past participle of * moult.' Pope suggested 'moult- 
ing.' See Abbott, §374. 

154. skimble-skamble stuff : confused, disconnected matter. 



86 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act in 

That were his lackeys: I cried 'hum/ and 'well, go to/ 

But mark'd him not a word. O, he is as tedious 

As a tired horse, a railing wife ; 160 

Worse than a smoky house : I had rather live 

With cheese and garlic in a windmill, far, 

Than feed on cates and have him talk to me 

In any summer-house in Christendom. 

Mortimer. In faith, he is a worthy gentleman, 165 
Exceedingly well read, and profited 
In strange concealments, valiant as a lion 
And wondrous affable and as bountiful 
As mines of India. Shall I tell you, cousin ? 
He holds your temper in a high respect 170 

And curbs himself even of his natural scope 
When you come 'cross his humour ; faith, he does : 
I warrant you, that man is not alive 
Might so have tempted him as you have done, 
Without the taste of danger and reproof: 175 

But do not use it oft, let me entreat you. 

Worcester. In faith, my lord, you are too wilful- 
blame ; 
And since your coming hither have done enough 

172. come 'cross | come crosse Q x | doe crosse F^. 

160-161. An old Welsh proverb says: "Three things will drive 
a man from home — a leaky roof, a smoky chimney, and a scolding 
wife." Cf. Chaucer, Wife of Bath's Prologue, 278-280. 

163. cates: dainties, delicacies. Shakespeare plays on the word 
in The Taming of the Shrew, II, i, 190 : "For dainties are all Kates." 

166-167. Exceedingly . . . concealments: extremely proficient 
in all the wonderful secret arts. 

177- too wilful-blame: wilfully blameworthy. Cf. King John, 
V, ii, 124: "The Dauphin is too wilful-opposite." 



scene -i HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 87 

To put him quite beside his patience. 

You must needs learn, lord, to amend this fault : 180 

Though sometimes it show greatness, courage, blood, — 

And that's the dearest grace it renders you, — 

Yet oftentimes it doth present harsh rage, 

Defect of manners, want of government, 

Pride, haughtiness, opinion and disdain : 185 

The least of which haunting a nobleman 

Loseth men's hearts and leaves behind a stain 

Upon the beauty of all parts besides, 

Beguiling them of commendation. 

Hotspur. Well, I am school'd : good manners be your 
speed ! 190 

Here come our wives, and let us take our leave. 

Re-enter Glendower with the ladies 

Mortimer. This is the deadly spite that angers me; 
My wife can speak no English, I no Welsh. 

Glendower. My daughter weeps : she will not part 
with you ; 
She'll be a soldier too, she'll to the wars. 195 

Mortimer. Good father, tell her that she and my 
aunt Percy 
Shall follow in your conduct speedily. 

Glendower speaks to her in Welsh, and she 
answers him in the same 

192. Scene III Pope. 

196. aunt Percy. It has already been seen that Hotspur's wife 
was sister to Sir Edmund Mortimer and aunt to the young Earl 
of March. And she has been spoken of in the play as Mortimer's 
sister, yet he here calls her his 'aunt.' From which it appears that 



88 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act hi 

Glendower. She is desperate here; a peevish self- 
will'd harlotry, one that no persuasion can do good upon. 

The lady speaks in Welsh 

Mortimer. I understand thy looks : that pretty Welsh 
Which thou pour'st down from these swelling heavens 
I am too perfect in ; and, but for shame, 202 

In such a parley should I answer thee. 

The lady speaks again in Welsh 
I understand thy kisses and thou mine, 
And that 's a feeling disputation : 205 

But I will never be a truant, love, 
Till I have learn 'd thy language ; for thy tongue 
Makes Welsh as sweet as ditties highly penn'd, 
Sung by a fair queen in a summer's bower, 
With ravishing division, to her lute. 210 

Glendower. Nay, if you melt, then will she run mad. 
The lady speaks again in Welsh 

Mortimer. O, I am ignorance itself in this! 

Glendower. She bids you on the wanton rushes lay 
you down 

Shakespeare not only mistook Sir Edmund for the Earl of March, 
or rather followed an authority who had so mistaken him, but 
sometimes confounded the two. 

198-199. peevish self-will'd harlotry. Used somewhat as a 
general term of reproach touched with affection without any such 
sense as is attached to the terms in modern English. Cf. Romeo 
and Juliet, IV, ii, 14, where Capulet uses it of his daughter: "A 
peevish self-will'd harlotry it is." 

201. swelling heavens : cerulean eyes welling up with emotion. 

205. feeling disputation : conversation carried on with feeling. 

210. division: variation (in music), melody. 

213. wanton rushes. English noblemen, even down to Shake- 
speare's time, had their floors carpeted with 'rushes'; and it 



scene i HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 89 

And rest your gentle head upon her lap, 

And she will sing the song that pleaseth you 215 

And on your eyelids crown the god of sleep, 

Charming your blood with pleasing heaviness, 

Making such difference 'twixt wake and sleep 

As is the difference betwixt day and night 

The hour before the heavenly-harness 'd team 220 

Begins his golden progress in the east. 

Mortimer. With all my heart I'll sit and hear her 
sing: 
By that time will our book, I think, be drawn. 

Glendower. Do so ; 
And those musicians that shall play to you 225 

Hang in the air a thousand leagues from hence, 
And straight they shall be here : sit, and attend. 

Hotspur. Come, Kate, thou art perfect in lying down: 
come, quick, quick, that I may lay my head in thy lap. 

Lady Percy. Go, ye giddy goose. The music plays 

Hotspur. Now I perceive the devil understands 
Welsh ; 231 

And 'tis no marvel he is so humorous. 
By'r lady, he is a good musician. 

would seem that even this was thought luxurious enough to be 
termed 'wanton.' 

223. book. It was usual to give this name to any manuscript 
of bulk, such as patents, grants, articles, and covenants. 

232. humorous: capricious, wayward, subject to fits and starts. 
The Word comes to have this meaning from the theory of the old 
physiologists that four cardinal 'humors' — blood, choler or yel- 
low bile, phlegm, melancholy or black bile — determine, by their 
conditions and proportions, a person's physical and mental qual- 
ities. Cf. The Merchant of Venice, IV, i, 43 ; As You Like It, I, 
ii. 278. 



90 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act hi 

Lady Percy. Then should you be nothing but mu- 
sical, for you are altogether governed by humours. Lie 
still, ye thief, and hear the lady sing in Welsh. 236 

Hotspur. I had rather hear Lady, my brach, howl 
in Irish. 

Lady Percy. Wouldst thou have thy head broken ? 

Hotspur. No. 240 

Lady Percy. Then be still. 

Hotspur. Neither ; 'tis a woman's fault. 

Lady Percy. Now God help thee ! 

Hotspur. To the Welsh lady's bed. 

Lady Percy. What's that? 245 

Hotspur. Peace ! she sings. 

Here the lady sings a Welsh song 

Hotspur. Come, Kate, I'll have your song too. 

Lady Percy. Not mine, in good sooth. 248 

Hotspur. Not yours, in good sooth ! Heart ! you 
swear like a comfit-maker's wife. <Not you, in good 
sooth,' and 'as true as I live,' and 'as God shall mend 
me,' and < as sure as day,' 252 

239. thou Q x I Ff omit. 247. Kate Q 1 | Ff omit. 

237. brach: "a kind of hound which hunts by scent; in later 
English use always feminine." — Murray. 

242. It is not quite clear what may be the woman's fault in- 
tended. If the context be taken strictly, it must be an unwilling- 
ness either to have the head broken or to hold the tongue. Or it 
may be that a woman will neither talk reason nor be still when 
others talk it. But probably it is a sort of disguised or ir6nical 
compliment; that he cannot be still while he has his wife to talk 
to, or cannot listen to the singing while she keeps him talking. — 
Steevens tries to prove that Hotspur's expression was proverbial. 

250. comfit-maker's: confectioner's. This expression prepares 
for the 'protest of pepper-gingerbread' in line 257. 



scene i HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 91 

And givest such sarcenet surety for thy oaths, 

As if thou never walk'st further than Finsbury. 

Swear me, Kate, like a lady as thou art, 255 

A good mouth-filling oath, and leave ( in sooth,' 

And such protest of pepper-gingerbread, 

To velvet-guards and Sunday-citizens. 

Come, sing. 

Lady Percy. I will not sing. 260 

Hotspur. 'Tis the next way to turn tailor, or be red- 
breast teacher. And the indentures be drawn, I'll away 
within these two hours; and so, come in when ye will. 

Exit 

Glendower. Come, come, Lord Mortimer; you are 
as slow 
As hot Lord Percy is on fire to go. 265 

By this our book is drawn ; we'll but seal, 
And then to horse immediately. 

Mortimer. With all my heart. 

Exeunt 

253. sarcenet. A soft gauzy silk, originally manufactured by the 
Saracens. Here it is used in the sense of ' flimsy,' ' feeble.' 

254. never, further. With monosyllabic pronunciation. See 
Abbott, §466.— Finsbury. Now a part of London, but formerly 
a region of open walks and fields, a common resort of the citizens 
for recreation. 

258. velvet-guards : trimmings of velvet. The city fashion in 
Shakespeare's time; here regarded as marks of softness or finical- 
ness. — Sunday-citizens: people in their holiday finery. 

261-262. next: nearest. As in II, i, 9.— turn tailor . . . teacher. 
Tailors, like weavers, were noted for singing at their work. Percy 
is jocular in his mode of persuading his wife to sing. The meaning 
is, to sing is to put yourself on a level with tailors and teachers of 
music to robins. 

266. our book: the indentures then being written. 



02 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act hi 

Scene II. [London. The palace] 

Enter the King, Prince of Wales, and others 

King Henry. Lords, give us leave ; the Prince of 
Wales and I 
Must have some private conference : but be near at hand, 
For we shall presently have need of you. 

Exeunt Lords 
I know not whether God will have it so, 
For some displeasing service I have done, 5 

That, in his secret doom, out of my blood 
He'll breed revengement and a scourge for me; 
But thou dost in thy passages of life 
Make me believe that thou art only mark'd 
For the hot vengeance and the rod of heaven 10 

To punish my mistreadings. Tell me else, 
Could such inordinate and low desires, 
Such poor, such bare, such lewd, such mean attempts, 
Such barren pleasures, rude society, 
As thou art match 'd withal and grafted to, 15 

Accompany the greatness of thy blood 
And hold their level with thy princely heart? 

Scene II | Scene IV Pope. 

6. blood: offspring. The king is thinking of the wrong he has 
done to his own kindred, or family blood, in the person of 
Richard. 

11. mistreadings: misdoings, transgressions. The speaker's con- 
science is ill at ease ; and his sense of guilt in the discrowning of his 
cousin and the usurping of his seat arms his son's irregularities with 
the stings of a providential retribution. 

13. lewd : wicked, depraved. Often so. — attempts : pursuits. 



scene ii HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 93 

Prince of Wales. So please your majesty, I would 
I could 
Quit all offences with as clear excuse 
As well as I am doubtless I can purge 20 

Myself of many I am charg'd withal : 
Yet such extenuation let me beg, 
As, in reproof of many tales devis'd, 
Which oft the ear of greatness needs must hear, 
By smiling pick- thanks and base newsmongers, 25 

I may, for some things true, wherein my youth 
Hath faulty wand'red and irregular, 
Find pardon on my true submission. 

King Henry. God pardon thee ! yet let me wonder, 
Harry, 
At thy affections, which do hold a wing 30 

Quite from the flight of all thy ancestors. 
Thy place in council thou hast rudely lost, 
W T hich by thy younger brother is supplied, 
And art almost an alien to the hearts 
Of all the court and princes of my blood : 35 

The hope and expectation of thy time 
Is ruin'd, and the soul of every man 
Prophetically doth forethink thy fall. 
Had I so lavish of my presence been, 

29. God O x I Heaven Ff. 38. doth Globe | do G^Ff. 

20. doubtless: certain. Cf. 'careless' meaning 'free from care.' 
25. pick-thanks : flatterers. Holinshed uses the word. 
32. Shakespeare anticipates an event that took place several 
years later. Holinshed, having just spoken of the prince's assault 
on the Chief Justice, adds, "The king after expelled him out of his 
privie councell, banisht him the court, and made the duke of 
Clarence, his yoonger brother, president of councell in his steed." 



94 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act hi 

So common-hackney 'd in the eyes of men, 4 o 

So stale and cheap to vulgar company, 

Opinion, that did help me to the crown, 

Had still kept loyal to possession 

And left me in reputeless banishment, 

A fellow of no mark nor likelihood. 45 

By being seldom seen, I could not stir 

But like a comet I was wond'red at ; 

That men would tell their children * This is he ' ; 

Others would say * Where, which is Bolingbroke ? ' 

And then I stole all courtesy from heaven, 50 

And dress'd myself in such humility 

That I did pluck allegiance from men's hearts, 

Loud shouts and salutations from their mouths, 

Even in the presence of the crowned king. 

Thus did I keep my person fresh and new; 55 

My presence, like a robe pontifical, 

Ne'er seen but wond'red at : and so my state, 

Seldom but sumptuous, showed like a feast 

And won by rareness such solemnity. 

59. won F 4 I wonne FjF^Fo wan Q x Camb. 

42. Opinion: public sentiment. Shakespeare has it repeatedly 
in the kindred sense of 'reputation.' 

43. possession: the person in possession (of the throne). 

50. This innocent passage has drawn forth some odd quirks of 
explanation. The obvious meaning is, I put all the graciousness 
and benignity of heaven into my manners and address. Cf. Words- 
worth's well-known line, "The gentleness of heaven is on the sea." 

52-53. I caused men's hearts to beat with allegiance toward my- 
self, and their mouths to utter shouts and salutations. 

59. such solemnity. That is, such solemnity as belongs to a 
feast. 'Solemnity' was often used of feasts of state; much in the 
sense of 'dignity.' Macbeth invites Banquo to a 'solemn supper.' 



scene ii HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 95 

The skipping king, he ambled up and down 60 

With shallow jesters and rash bavin wits, 

Soon kindled and soon burnt ; carded his state, 

Mingled his royalty with cap'ring fools, 

Had his great name profaned with their scorns 

And gave his countenance, against his name, 65 

To laugh at gibing boys and stand the push 

Of every beardless vain comparative, 

Grew a companion to the common streets, 

Enfeoff'd himself to popularity ; 

That, being daily swallow'd by men's eyes, 70 

They surfeited with honey and began 

To loathe the taste of sweetness, whereof a little 

More than a little is by much too much. 

So when he had occasion to be seen, 

He was but as the cuckoo is in June, 75 

63. cap'ring Q x | carping Ff. 

61. bavin: brush-wood, small fagots (used for lighting fires). So 
in Lyly's Mother Bombie (1594): "Bavins will have their flashes, 
and youth their fancies, the one as soon quenched as the other 
burnt." 

62. carded his state. 'Carded' has been explained in divers 
ways. The most probable meaning is shown in Bacon's Natural 
History : " It is an excellent drink for a consumption, to be drunk 
either alone, or carded with some other beer." Likewise in Greene's 
Quip for an Upstart Courtier: "You card your beer (if you see 
your guests begin to get drunk) half small, half strong." So that 
'carded his state' probably means the same as 'mingled his 
royalty.' 

67. comparative : one who affected wit, or was a dealer in com- 
parisons. With 'comparative' cf. I, ii, 82. 

69. Gave himself up entirely to the pursuit of popularity — 
Enfeoff'd. 'Enfeoff' is a law term, signifying to give or grant 
anything to another in fee-simple. 



96 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act hi 

Heard, not regarded ; seen, but with such eyes 

As, sick and blunted with community, 

Afford no extraordinary gaze, 

Such as is bent on sun-like majesty 

When it shines seldom in admiring eyes ; So 

But rather drows'd and hung their eyelids down, 

Slept in his face and rendered such aspect 

As cloudy men use to their adversaries, 

Being with his presence glutted, gorg'd and full. 

And in that very line, Harry, standest thou ; 85 

For thou hast lost thy princely privilege 

With vile participation : not an eye 

But is a-weary of thy common sight, 

Save mine, which hath desir'd to see thee more ; 

Which now doth that I would not have it do, 90 

Make blind itself with foolish tenderness. 

Prince of Wales. I shall hereafter, my thrice gra- 
cious lord, 
Be more myself. 

King Henry. For all the world 
As thou art to this hour was Richard then 
When I from France set foot at Ravenspurgh, 95 

And even as I was then is Percy now. 
Now, by my sceptre and my soul to boot, 
He hath more worthy interest to the state 
Than thou the shadow of succession ; 
For of no right, nor colour like to right, 100 

77. community : commonness, cheap familiarity. 
87. vile participation : low, vulgar companionship. 
98. to: in. Cf. The Winter's Tale, IV, ii, 36-37: "He is less 
frequent to his princely exercises than formerly." 



scene ii HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 97 

He doth fill fields with harness in the realm, 

Turns head against the lion's armed jaws, 

And, being no more in debt to years than thou, 

Leads ancient lords and reverend bishops on 

To bloody battles and to bruising arms. 105 

What never-dying honour hath he got 

Against renowned Douglas ! whose high deeds, 

Whose hot incursions and great name in arms 

Holds from all soldiers chief majority 

And military title capital no 

Through all the kingdoms that acknowledge Christ : 

Thrice hath this Hotspur, Mars in swathling clothes, 

This infant warrior, in his enterprizes 

Discomfited great Douglas, ta'en him once, 

Enlarged him and made a friend of him, 115 

To fill the mouth of deep defiance up 

And shake the peace and safety of our throne. 

And what say you to this ? Percy, Northumberland, 

The Archbishop's grace of York, Douglas, Mortimer, 

Capitulate against us and are up. 120 

But wherefore do I tell these news to thee ? 

Why, Harry, do I tell thee of my foes, 

iio-iii. capital Through . . . Christ : | capitall. Through . . . Christ Q x \ 
Camb I capitall Through . . . Christ. Q 2 Capitall. Through . . . Christ, Ff. 

101. harness: armor. Cf. Macbeth, V, v, 52: "At least we'll 
die with harness on our back." 

103. Shakespeare with great dramatic propriety approximates 
the ages of the prince and Hotspur, for the better kindling of a 
noble emulation between them. Hotspur was some twenty years 
older than Prince Henry. 

109. majority : superiority, preeminence, priority. 

no. capital: chief, principal. Cf. Henry V, V, ii, 96. 

120. Capitulate : make articles of agreement. 



98 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act in 

Which are my nearest and dearest enemy? 

Thou that art like enough, through vassal fear, 

Base inclination and the start of spleen, 125 

To fight against me under Percy's pay, 

To dog his heels and curtsy at his frowns, 

To show how much thou art degenerate. 

Prince of Wales. Do not think so ; you shall not 
find it so : 
And God forgive them that so much have sway'd 130 
Your majesty's good thoughts away from me ! 
I will redeem all this on Percy's head 
And in the closing of some glorious day 
Be bold to tell you that I am your son; 
When I will wear a garment all of blood 135 

And stain my favours in a bloody mask, 
Which, wash'd away, shall scour my shame with it : 
And that shall be the day, whene'er it lights, 
That this same child of honour and renown, 
This gallant Hotspur, this all-praised knight, 140 

And your unthought-of Harry chance to meet. 
For every honour sitting on his helm, 
Would they were multitudes, and on my head 
My shames redoubled ! for the time will come, 
That I shall make this northern youth exchange 145 

His glorious deeds for my indignities. 

123. dearest. 'Dear' is used by Elizabethan writers to describe 
a person or a thing that affects deeply either for joy or pain. Mur- 
ray derives 'dear' in the sense of 'giving pain' from Anglo-Saxon 
deor, 'hard,' 'grievous,' and 'dear' in the modern sense from Anglo- 
Saxon deore, 'precious.' 

136. favours: features, face. So in Richard II, IV, i, 168: "Yet 
I will remember the favours of these men." 



scene ii HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 99 

Percy is but my factor, good my lord, 
To engross up glorious deeds on my behalf ; 
And I will call him to so strict account, 
That he shall render every glory up, 150 

Yea, even the slightest worship of his time, 
Or I will tear the reckoning from his heart. 
This, in the name of God, I promise here : 
The which if He be pleas'd I shall perform, 
I do beseech your majesty may salve 155 

The long-grown wounds of my intemperance: 
If not, the end of life cancels all bands ; 
And I will die a hundred thousand deaths 
Ere break the smallest parcel of this vow. 159 

King Henry. A hundred thousand rebels die in this : 
Thou shalt have charge and sovereign trust herein. 

Enter Blunt 

How now, good Blunt? thy looks are full of speed. 

Blunt. So hath the business that I come to speak of. 
Lord Mortimer of Scotland hath sent word 
That Douglas and the English rebels met 165 

The eleventh of this month at Shrewsbury : 

154. if . . . perform Q 1 | if I performe, and doe survive Fj_. 

147-148. factor . . . deeds. Capitalists or speculators some- 
times sent out 'factors,' that is, agents, to buy up and monopolize 
wool, grain, or other products. 

156. intemperance: lack of self-control. The Folios read 'in- 
temperature.' 

157. bands: bonds, obligations. Cf. Richard II, I, i, 2. 

164. Lord Mortimer of Scotland. There was no such person. 
It is George Dunbar, Earl of March in the Scottish peerage, who 
is meant. 



100 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act in 

A mighty and a fearful head they are, 
If promises be kept on every hand, 
As ever offer'd foul play in a state. 

King Henry. The Earl of Westmoreland set forth 
to-day; i 7 o 

With him my son, Lord John of Lancaster ; 
For this advertisement is five days old : 
On Wednesday next, Harry, you shall set forward ; 
On Thursday we ourselves will march : our meeting 
Is Bridgenorth: and, Harry, you shall march 175 

Through Gloucestershire ; by which account, 
Our business valued, some twelve days hence 
Our general forces at Bridgenorth shall meet. 
Our hands are full of business : let's away ; 
Advantage feeds him fat, while men delay. Exeunt 1S0 

Scene III. [Eastcheap. The Boar's-Head Tavern] 

Enter Falstaff and Bardolph 

Falstaff. Bardolph, am I not fallen away vilely since 
this last action ? do I not bate ? do I not dwindle ? Why, 
my skin hangs about me like an old lady's loose gown ; 
I am withered like an old apple-john. Well, I'll repent, 

Scene III | Scene V Pope. 

172. advertisement : intelligence, information. 

177. Our business valued : an estimate being made of the busi- 
ness we have to do. 

4. apple-john. "A kind of apple, said to keep two years, and 
to be in perfection when shrivelled and withered." — Murray. Thus 
described in Phillips's Cyder (1708): "John-apple, whose wither'd 
rind, entrench'd By many a furrow, aptly represents Decrepid age." 
Cf . 2 Henry IV, II, iv, 4-9 : " The prince once set a dish of apple- 



scene in HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 101 

and that suddenly, while I am in some liking ; I shall be 
out of heart shortly, and then I shall have no strength 
to repent. And I have not forgotten what the inside of a 
church is made of, I am a peppercorn, a brewer's horse : 
the inside of a church! Company, villainous company, 
hath been the spoil of me. 10 

Bardolph. Sir John, you are so fretful, you cannot 
live long. 

Falstaff. Why, there is it : come sing me a song ; 
make me merry. I was as virtuously given as a gentle- 
man need to be; virtuous enough; swore little; dic'd 
not above seven times a week ; paid money that I bor- 
row'd, three or four times ; liv'd well and in good com- 
pass : and now I live out of all order, out of all compass. 

Bardolph. Why, you are so fat, Sir John, that you 
must needs be out of all compass, out of all reasonable 
compass, Sir John. 21 

Falstaff. Do thou amend thy face, and I'll amend 
my life: thou art our admiral, thou bearest the lantern 

Johns before him, and told him there were five more Sir Johns; 
and, putting off his hat, said, 'I will now take my leave of these six 
dry, round, old, wither'd knights.'" 

5. liking. The sense of 'liking' is about the same as the phrase 
'good keeping.' Thus, in The Book of Common Prayer, Psalm 
xcii: "Such as are planted in the House of the Lord shall bring 
forth more fruit in their age, and shall be fat and well-liking." 
The English Psalter is much older than the version of 1611, which 
renders the same passage "fat and flourishing." 

8. peppercorn . . . horse. "Falstaff compares himself to what 
he is most unlike, a peppercorn for size, and a brewer's horse for 
wit."— Clar. 

23. admiral: flagship. Of course the admiral's ship went fore- 
most, and in the night bore a lantern conspicuous in the stern, or 
poop, that those in the rear might keep in her track. 



102 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act in 

in the poop, but 'tis in the nose of thee ; thou art the 
Knight of the Burning Lamp. 25 

Bardolph. Why, Sir John, my face does you no harm. 

Falstaff. No, I'll be sworn ; I make as good use of 
it as many a man doth of a Death's-head or a memento 
mori : I never see thy face but I think upon hell-fire and 
Dives that liv'd in purple ; for there he is in his robes, 
burning, burning. If thou wert any way given to virtue, 
I would swear by thy face ; my oath should be ' By this 
fire, that's God's angel' : but thou art altogether given 
over ; and wert indeed, but for the light in thy face, the 
son of utter darkness. When thou ran'st up Gadshill 
in the night to catch my horse, if I did not think thou 
hadst been an ignis fatuus or a ball of wildfire, there's 
no purchase in money. O, thou art a perpetual triumph, 
an everlasting bonfire-light ! Thou hast saved me a 
thousand marks in links and torches, walking with thee 
in the night betwixt tavern and tavern : but the sack 
that thou hast drunk me would have bought me lights 
as good cheap at the dearest chandler's in Europe. I 
have maintain 'd that salamander of yours with fire any 
time this two and thirty years ; God reward me for it ! 45 

33. that 's . . . angel | Ff omit. 

25. A humorous reference to the titles assumed by knights-errant. 
Cf. Beaumont and Fletcher's play, The Knight of the Burning 
Pestle. 

33. fire . . . angel. Cf . Exodus, iii, 2 ; Hebrews, i, 7. 

39-40. Thou hast . . . tavern. 'Candles and lanterns to let' 
was cried about London. — links: torches of tow and pitch. 

43. good cheap: good trade, bargain. Here 'cheap' is used in 
its original sense of a noun, found in Anglo-Saxon in the form 
cedp, 'barter' or 'bargain.' See Murray. 



scene in HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 1 03 

Bardolph. 'Sblood, I would my face were in your 
belly ! 

Falstaff. God-a-mercy ! so should I be sure to be 
heart-burn'd. 

Enter Hostess 

How now, Dame Partlet the hen ! have you inqiiir'd yet 
who pick'd my pocket ? 51 

Hostess. Why, Sir John, what do you think, Sir John? 
do you think I keep thieves in my house? I have 
searched, I have inquir'd, so has my husband, man by 
man, boy by boy, servant by servant : the tithe of a hair 
was never lost in my house before. 56 

Falstaff. Ye lie, hostess: Bardolph was shav'd and 
lost many a hair ; and I'll be sworn my pocket was 
pick'd. Go to, you are a woman, go. 

Hostess. Who, I? no; I defy thee: God's light, I 
was never call'd so in mine own house before. 6r 

Falstaff. Go to, I know you well enough. 

Hostess. No, Sir John ; you do not know me, Sir 
John. I know you, Sir John : you owe me money, Sir 
John ; and now you pick a quarrel to beguile me of it : 
I bought you a dozen of shirts to your back. 66 

46. 'Sblood Q 1 I Ff omit. 48. God-a-mercy Q x | Ff omit. 

50. Dame Partlet. The word 'partlet' used as the proper name 
of a hen, often 'Dame Partlet' as in the text, came into English 
literature when Chaucer made 'damoysele Pertelote' the favorite 
of the "sevene hennes" that accompanied a "cok, highte Chaunte- 
cleer" in The Nonne Preestes Tale. Shakespeare uses the expression 
again in The Winter's Tale, II, iii, 75. 

55. tithe : tenth part. As in old ecclesiastical language. Quartos 
and Folios read 'tight.' Theobald made the correction. 



104 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act in 

Falstaff. Dowlas, filthy dowlas : I have given them 
away to bakers' wives, and they have made bolters of 
them. 69 

Hostess. Now, as I am a true woman, holland of 
eight shillings an ell. You owe money here besides, Sir 
John, for your diet and by-drinkings, and money lent 
you, four and twenty pound. 

Falstaff. He had his part of it ; let him pay. 

Hostess. He? alas, he is poor; he hath nothing. 75 

Falstaff. How! poor? look upon his face; what call 
you rich? let them coin his nose, let them coin his 
cheeks: I'll not pay a denier. What, will you make a 
younker of me? shall I not take mine ease in mine inn 
but I shall have my pocket pick'd? I have lost a seal- 
ring of my grandfather's worth forty mark. 81 

Hostess. O Jesu, I have heard the prince tell him, 
I know not how oft, that that ring was copper ! 

82. Jesu I Ff omit. 

67. dowlas : a kind of coarse linen. From Daoulas in Brittany. 

68. bolters: canvas sieves for meal. Cf. II, iv, 444. 

71. eight shillings an ell. Apparently a high price for Holland 
linen, but Malone quotes the following from Stubbes's Anatomy of 
Abuses: "In so much as I have heard of shirtes that have cost some 
ten shillinges, some twentie, some fortie, some five pound, some 
twentie nobles, and (whiche is horrible to heare) some ten pound a 
peece; yea the meanest shirte that commonly is worne of any doth 
cost a crowne or a noble at the least ; and yet that is scarsely thought 
fine enough for the simplest person." 

72. by-drinkings : drinkings between meals. 

79. younker: novice, dupe. Quartos and Folios read 'younger.' 
— take . . . inn. So in Heywood's Proverbes, 1562: "To let the 
world wag, and take mine ease in mine inn." 'Inn' originally meant 
' dwelling-place,' ' habitation ' (see Murray) , and this is its meaning in 
the old proverb. Falstaff uses the word in the earlier and later senses. 



scene in HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 105 

Falstaff. How ! the prince is a Jack, a sneak-cup : 
'sblood, an he were here, I would cudgel him like a dog, if 
he would say so. 86 

Enter the Prince and Peto, marching, and Falstaff 
meets them playing on his truncheon like a fife 

How now, lad ! is the wind in that door, i' faith ? must 
we all march? 

Bardolph. Yea, two and two, Newgate fashion. 
Hostess. My lord, I pray you, hear me. 9° 

Prince of Wales. What say'st thou, Mistress 
Quickly? How doth thy husband? I love him well; 
he is an honest man. 

Hostess. Good my lord, hear me. 
Falstaff. Prithee, let her alone, and list to me. 95 
Prince of Wales. What say'st thou, Jack ? 
Falstaff. The other night I fell asleep here behind 
the arras and had my pocket pick'd : this house is turn'd 
bawdy-house; they pick pockets. 

Prince of Wales. What didst thou lose, Jack? 100 
Falstaff. Wilt thou believe me, Hal? three or four 
bonds of forty pound a-piece, and a seal-ring of my 
grandfather's. 

Prince of Wales. A trifle, some eight-penny matter. 
Hostess. So I told him, my lord ; and I said I heard 

84. Jack. Cf. II, iv, 11, also line 139 below.— sneak-cup : one 
who sneaks from his cup, coward in drinking. 

89. Newgate fashion: in the fashion of Newgate prisoners. New- 
gate, recently pulled down, was the most celebrated of London pris- 
ons; and condemned criminals were wont to be handcuffed together 
in pairs, or two and two. 



106 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act in 

your grace say so : and, my lord, he speaks most vilely of 
you, like a foul-mouth'd man as he is ; and said he would 
cudgel you. 108 

Prince of Wales. What! he did not? 

Hostess. There's neither faith, truth, nor womanhood 
in me else. 

Falstaff. There's no more faith in thee than in a 
stew'd prune ; nor no more truth in thee than in a drawn 
fox ; and for womanhood, Maid Marian may be the 
deputy's wife of the ward to thee. Go, you thing, go. 

Hostess. Say, what thing? what thing? n6 

112. in a Q x | a Ff. 115. thing Q x | nothing Ff. 

113-114. stew'd prune. "The vapidity and utter lack of any- 
thing like vigor, virtue or goodness in a stewed prune renders this 
illustrative parallel self-evident." — Cowden Clarke. — drawn fox. 
Commonly said to mean a fox drawn or ousted from his cover, 
when he was supposed to have recourse to all sorts of cunning 
artifices, to elude his pursuers. Heath's explanation is that the 
expression refers to " a fox drawn over the ground, to leave a scent, 
and keep the hounds in exercise while they are not employed in a 
better chase. It is said to have no truth in it, because it deceives 
the hounds, who run with the same eagerness as if they were in 
pursuit of a real fox." — Maid Marian. The companion of Robin 
Hood, who, in the words of Drayton, "to his mistress dear, his 
loved Marian, was ever constant known." As this famous couple 
afterwards became leading characters in the popular morris dances 
at the Mayday festivities, and Marian's part was generally sus- 
tained by a man in woman's clothing, the name grew to be prover- 
bial for a mannish woman. 

115. to: compared to, in comparison with. So that the mean- 
ing seems to be, In respect of womanhood, you are as much be- 
low Maid Marian as she is below the wife of the deputy of the 
ward. The mayor, or some other magistrate of the city, had a 
deputy, or substitute, in each ward. It was an office of consider- 
able dignity. 



scene in HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 107 

Falstaff. What thing ! why, a thing to thank God on. 

Hostess. I am no thing to thank God on, I would 
thou shouldst know it ; I am an honest man's wife : and, 
setting thy knighthood aside, thou art a knave to call 

me so. I21 

Falstaff. Setting thy womanhood aside, thou art a 

beast to say otherwise. 

Hostess. Say, what beast, thou knave, thou? 
Falstaff. What beast! why, an otter. 125 

Prince of Wales. An otter, Sir John ! why an otter? 
Falstaff. Why, she's neither fish nor flesh; a man 
knows not where to have her. 

Hostess. Thou art an unjust man in saying so: thou 

or any man knows where to have me, thou knave, thou ! 

Prince of Wales. Thou say'st true, hostess ; and he 

slanders thee most grossly. T 3 2 

Hostess. So he doth you, my lord; and said this 

other day you ought him a thousand pound. 

Prince of Wales. Sirrah, do I owe you a thousand 
pound? T 3 6 

Falstaff. A thousand pound, Hal! a million: thy 
love is worth a million : thou owest me thy love. 

Hostess. Nay, my lord, he called you Jack, and said 
he would cudgel you. x 4° 

Falstaff. Did I, Bardolph? 
Bardolph. Indeed, Sir John, you said so. 
Falstaff. Yea, if he said my ring was copper. 
Prince of Wales. I say 'tis copper : darest thou be 
as good as thy word now ? T 45 

134. ought: owed. This use of 'ought' was archaic in Shake- 
speare's day and was probably intended as a vulgarism here. 



108 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act in 

Falstaff. Why, Hal, thou knowest, as thou art but 
man, I dare : but as thou art prince, I fear thee as I 
fear the roaring of a lion's whelp. 

Prince of Wales. And why not as the lion ? i 49 

Falstaff. The king himself is to be feared as the 
lion: dost thou think I'll fear thee as I fear thy father? 
nay, and I do, I pray God my girdle break. 

Prince of Wales. O, if it should, how would thy 
guts fall about thy knees! But, sirrah, there's no room 
for faith, truth, nor honesty in this bosom of thine ; it is 
all filled up with midriff. Charge an honest woman with 
picking thy pocket ! why, thou whoreson, impudent, 
emboss'd rascal, if there were anything in thy pocket but 
tavern-reckonings, and one poor penny-worth of sugar- 
candy to make thee long-winded, if thy pocket were en- 
rich'd with any other injuries but these, I am a villain : 
and yet you will stand to it ; you will not pocket up 
wrong: art thou not asham'd? 163 

152. 1 pray God Q 1 | let Ff. 

152. girdle break. "Ungirt, unblest" was an old proverb. And 
in the language of the Old Testament, the ' girdle ' is emblematic of 
authority, and of the qualities that inspire respect and reverence. 
Cf. Job, xii, 18: "He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their 
loins with a girdle"; Isaiah, xi, 5: "And righteousness shall be 
the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins." So 
that Falstaff's meaning seems to be, May I in my old age cease to 
be reverenced, if I be guilty of such a misplacement of reverence. 

158. emboss'd. Often used of certain sores, such as boils and 
carbuncles, when grown to a head. In this sense it might aptly 
refer to Falstaff's rotundity of person. Cf. As You Like It, II, 
vii, 67. 

162-163. pocket up wrong: tamely put up with affronts, instead 
of resenting them with manly spirit. The prince has a punning ref- 
erence to the forecited contents of Sir John's pocket. 



scene in HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 109 

Falstaff. Dost thou hear, Hal? thou know'st in the 
state of innocency Adam fell; and what should poor 
Jack Falstaff do in the days of villainy? thou seest I 
have more flesh than another man, and therefore more 
frailty. You confess then, you pick'd my pocket ? 168 

Prince of Wales. It appears so by the story. 

Falstaff. Hostess, I forgive thee: go, make ready 
breakfast ; love thy husband, look to thy servants, cherish 
thy guests: thou shalt find me tractable to any honest 
reason : thou seest I am pacified still. Nay, prithee, be 
gone. [Exit Hostess] Now, Hal, to the news at court : 
for the robbery, lad, how is that answer'd? 175 

Prince of Wales. O, my sweet beef, I must still be 
good angel to thee : the money is paid back again. 

Falstaff. O, I do not like that paying back ; 'tis a 
double labour. 

Prince of Wales. I am good friends with my father 
and may do any thing. lSl 

Falstaff. Rob me the exchequer the first thing thou 
doest, and do it with unwash'd hands too. 
Bardolph. Do, my lord. 

Prince of Wales. I have procur'd thee, Jack, a 

charge of foot. l86 

Falstaff. I would it had been of horse. Where 

shall I find one that can steal well ? O for a fine thief, 

170. I forgive thee. A characteristic stroke of humorous impu- 
dence. Falstaff makes believe that he is the one sinned against. 

173. I . . . still : I am always a peacemaker. Hanmer punctu- 
ated the passage, " I am satisfied. Still ? " 

183. with unwash'd hands: immediately. Some editors in- 
terpret the phrase as 'without retracting or repenting of it,' with 
allusion to the common expression, 'I wash my hands of it.' 



HO THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act in 

of the age of two and twenty or thereabouts ! I am 
heinously unprovided. Well, God be thank'd for these 
rebels, they offend none but the virtuous: I laud them, 
I praise them. 192 

Prince of Wales. Bardolph ! 

Bardolph. My lord ? 

Prince of Wales. Go bear this letter to Lord John 
of Lancaster, to my brother John ; this to my Lord of 
Westmoreland. [Exit Bardolph] Go, Peto, to horse, 
to horse ; for thou and I have thirty miles to ride yet ere 
dinner time. [Exit Peto] Jack, meet me to-morrow in 
the Temple hall at two o'clock in the afternoon. 200 

There shalt thou know thy charge ; and there receive 
Money and order for their furniture. 
The land is burning ; Percy stands on high ; 
And either we or they must lower lie. Exit 

Falstaff. Rare words ! brave world ! Hostess, my 

breakfast, come! 205 

O, I could wish this tavern were my drum ! Exit 

189. the age of | Ff omit. 

206. drum. This may mean 'headquarters' with an allusion to 
rallying recruits by the beating of a drum; or an intimation that 
Sir John prefers the leading of his stomach in the tavern to that 
of the military ensign, or of the drum, which was wont to be 
decorated with the colors of the regiment or battalion. 



ACT IV, 

Scene I. [The rebel camp near Shrewsbury] 
Enter Hotspur, Worcester, and Douglas 

Hotspur. Well said, my noble Scot : if speaking truth 
In this fine age were not thought flattery, 
Such attribution should the Douglas have, 
As not a soldier of this season's stamp 
Should go so general current through the world. 5 

By God, I cannot flatter; I do defy 
The tongues of soothers ; but a braver place 
In my heart's love hath no man than yourself : 
Nay, task me to my word ; approve me, lord. 

Douglas. Thou art the king of honour: 10 

No man so potent breathes upon the ground 
But I will beard him. 

Hotspur. Do so, and 'tis well. 

Enter a Messenger with letters 

What letters hast thou there?— I can but thank you. 
Messenger. These letters come from your father. 
Hotspur. Letters from him! why comes he not 
himself ? 1 5 

4. As: that. Often after 'such' or 'so.' See Abbott, § 109. 

6. defy: refuse, abjure. Cf. I, iii, 228. 

7. soothers: flatterers. So 'soothe' is used for 'flatter.' 
9. task: challenge. — approve: make trial of, prove. 



112 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

Messenger. He cannot come, my lord ; he is griev- 
ous sick. 

Hotspur. 'Zounds ! how has he the leisure to be sick 
In such a justling time? Who leads his power? 
Under whose government come they along? 

Messenger. His letters bear his mind, not I, my 
lord. 20 

Worcester. I prithee, tell me, doth he keep his bed ? 

Messenger. He did, my lord, four days ere I set 
forth ; 
And at the time of my departure thence 
He was much fear'd by his physicians. 

Worcester. I would the state of time had first been 
whole 25 

Ere he by sickness had been visited : 
His health was never better worth than now. 

Hotspur. Sick now! droop now! this sickness doth 
infect 
The very life-blood of our enterprise ; 
'Tis catching hither, even to our camp. 30 

He writes me here, that inward sickness — 
And that his friends by deputation could not 
So soon be drawn, nor did he think it meet 
To lay so dangerous and dear a trust 
On any soul remov'd but on his own. 35 

Yet doth he give us bold advertisement, 
That with our small conjunction we should on, 
To see how fortune is dispos'd to us ; 

17. sick Q x I sick now Ff. lord Capell | my mind Qj | his 

20. bear | beares Q L Fi. — my mind Ff. 

24. fear'd: feared for. So in IV, ii, 58, and elsewhere. 



scene i HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 113 

For, as he writes, there is no quailing now, 

Because the king is certainly possess'd 40 

Of all our purposes. What say you to it ? 

Worcester. Your father's sickness is a maim to us. 

Hotspur. A perilous gash, a very limb lopp'd off: 
And yet, in faith, it is not ; his present want 
Seems more than we shall find it : were it good 45 

To set the exact wealth of all our states 
All at one cast ? to set so rich a main 
On the nice hazard of one doubtful hour? 
It were not good ; for therein should we read 
The very bottom and the soul of hope, 50 

The very list, the very utmost bound 
Of all our fortunes. 

Douglas. Faith, and so we should ; 

Where now remains a sweet reversion: 
We may boldly spend upon the hope of what 
Is to come in: 55 

A comfort of retirement lives in this. 

Hotspur. A rendezvous, a home to fly unto, 
If that the devil and mischance look big 
Upon the maidenhead of our affairs. 
Worcester. But yet I would your father had been 
here. 6o 

40. possess'd: informed. Often so. Cf. Twelfth Night, II, iii, 
149 ; The Merchant of Venice, I, iii, 65 ; IV, i, 35, etc. 

49-50. therein . . . hope: in doing this we should realize that 
all our hopes were fixed on a single encounter. 

51. list : limit, boundary. Cf . Hamlet, IV, v, 99- 

53. Where: whereas.— reversion : a hope in store for us. 

56. retirement: something to fall back on. 

59. maidenhead : maidenhood, youth, immaturity. 



114 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

The quality and hair of our attempt 

Brooks no division : it will be thought 

By some, that know not why he is away, 

That wisdom, loyalty and mere dislike 

Of our proceedings kept the earl from hence: 65 

And think how such an apprehension 

May turn the tide of fearful faction 

And breed a kind of question in our cause ; 

For well you know we of the offering side 

Must keep aloof from strict arbitrement, 70 

And stop all sight-holes, every loop from whence 

The eye of reason may pry in upon us : 

This absence of your father's draws a curtain, 

That shows the ignorant a kind of fear 

Before not dreamt of. 

Hotspur. You strain too far. 75 

I rather of his absence make this use: 
It lends a lustre and more great opinion, 
A larger dare to our great enterprise, 
Than if the earl were here ; for men must think, 
If we without his help can make a head 80 

To push against a kingdom, with his help 

61. hair : complexion, character. Cf . Beaumont and Fletcher's 
Nice Valour: "A lady of my hair cannot want pitying." Similarly 
in an old play entitled Sir Thomas More: "A fellow of your haire 
is very fitt to be a secretaries follower." 

69. offering: assailing, challenging. Cf. 2 Henry IV, IV, i, 219. 

70. arbitrement: judicial inquiry. 

71. loop: loophole. An older word than 'loophole.' 
74. fear: object of fear. Cf. I, hi, 87. 

77. opinion: fame, reputation. Cf. Ill, ii, 42; V, iv, 48. 

78. larger dare: greater boldness. 

80. head. See note, I, iii, 284. So in IV, iii, 103 ; V, i, 66, etc. 



scene i HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 115 

We shall o'erturn it topsy-turvy down. 

Yet all goes well, yet all our joints are whole. 

Douglas. As heart can think: there is not such a 
word 
Spoke of in Scotland as this term of fear. 85 

Enter Sir Richard Vernon 

Hotspur. My cousin Vernon ! welcome, by my soul. 

Vernon. Pray God my news be worth a welcome, 
lord. 
The Earl of Westmoreland, seven thousand strong, 
Is marching hitherwards ; with him Prince John. 

Hotspur. No harm : what more ? 

Vernon. And further, I have learn'd, 

The king himself in person is set forth, 91 

Or hitherwards intended speedily, 
With strong and mighty preparation. 

Hotspur. He shall be welcome too. Where is his son, 
The nimble-footed madcap Prince of Wales, 95 

And his comrades, that daff'd the world aside, 
And bid it pass? 

Vernon. All furnish'd, all in arms ; 

All plum'd like estridges that with the wind 

85. term | tearme Q 1 | dream Ff. 86. Scene II Pope. 

95. nimble-footed. Stowe says of the prince, "He was passing 
swift in running, insomuch that he, with two other of his lords, 
without hounds, bow, or other engine, would take a wilde bucke, 
or doe, in a large parke." 

96. daff'd: put, thrust. f DafP is a variant of 'doff,' Mo off.' 
98. estridges. 'Estridge' is the old form of 'ostrich.' The os- 
trich's plumage might naturally occur to Shakespeare, from its be- 
ing the cognizance or heraldic bearing of the prince. 



n6 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

Bated like eagles having lately bath'd ; 

Glittering in golden coats, like images; ioo 

As full of spirit as the month of May, 

And gorgeous as the sun at midsummer ; 

Wanton as youthful goats, wild as young bulls. 

I saw young Harry, with his beaver on, 

His cuisses' on his thighs, gallantly arm'd, 105 

Rise from the ground like feathered Mercury, 

And vaulted with such ease into his seat, 

105. cuisses Pope f cushes QjFf. 

99. Bated : flapped and fluttered the wings. The plumes of 
the prince and his comrades are " first illustrated by the comparison 
with the ostrich, then the specific trait of fluttering in the wind is il- 
lustrated by the further comparison to eagles after bathing." — Her- 
ford. — eagles . . . bath'd. "Eagles were supposed to renew their 
youth and vigour by plunging in certain springs. In the Bestiare of 
Philippe de Thaun, the story of the eagles seeking a certain foun- 
tain in the East, and, when plunged therein three times, having 
their youth and vigour renewed, is declared to be typical of bap- 
tism." — Brae. Spenser makes use of the same fable in The Faerie 
Queene, I, xi, where the hero, overcome and desperately wounded 
in his long fight with the "old Dragon," at last falls back into "a 
springing well, full of great vertues, and for med'cine good," and 
lies there all the night. Una, sorely distressed and dismayed at 
his fall, watches, to see the issue, till morning, when 
At last she saw, where he upstarted brave 
Out of the well, wherein he drenched lay ; 
As eagle fresh out of the ocean wave, 
Where he hath left his plumes all hoary gray, 
And deckt himselfe with feathers youthly gay. 

104. beaver. The 'beaver' of the helmet was a movable piece, 
which lifted up to enable the wearer to drink or to breathe more 
freely. Of course in time of action it was drawn down over the face. 

105. cuisses: armor for the thighs. 

107. vaulted. Malone suggested 'vault it,' but the change of 
construction in the text is common in Shakespeare. 



scene i HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 117 

As if an angel dropp'd down from the clouds, 
To turn and wind a fiery Pegasus 
And witch the world with noble horsemanship. no 

Hotspur. No more, no more: worse than the sun in 
March, 
This praise doth nourish agues. Let them come; 
They come like sacrifices in their trim, 
And to the fire-eyed maid of smoky war 
All hot and bleeding will we offer them: 115 

The mailed Mars shall on his altar sit 
Up to the ears in blood. I am on fire 
To hear this rich reprisal is so nigh 
And yet not ours. Come, let me taste my horse, 
Who is to bear me like a thunderbolt 120 

Against the bosom of the Prince of Wales : 
Harry to Harry shall, hot horse to horse, 
Meet and ne'er part till one drop down a corse. 

that Glendower were come ! 

Vernon. There is more news : 

1 learn 'd in Worcester, as I rode along, 125 
He cannot draw his power this fourteen days. 

Douglas. That's the worst tidings that I hear of yet. 

Worcester. Ay, by my faith, that bears a frosty 
sound. 

Hotspur. What may the king's whole battle reach unto ? 

Vernon. To thirty thousand. 

Hotspur. Forty let it be: 130 

My father and Glendower being both away, 
The powers of us may serve so great a day. 

119. taste Q t I take Ff. 
119. taste : try. Cf. Twelfth Night, III, i, 87. 



Il8 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

Come, let us take a muster speedily : 
Doomsday is near ; die all, die merrily. 

Douglas. Talk not of dying: I am out of fear 135 
Of death or death's hand for this one-half year. Exeunt 

Scene II. [A public road near Coventry] 
Enter Falstaff and Bardolph 

Falstaff. Bardolph, get thee before to Coventry ; fill 
me a bottle of sack : our soldiers shall march through ; 
we'll to Sutton Co'fiP to-night. 

Bardolph. Will you give me money, captain? 

Falstaff. Lay out, lay out. 5 

Bardolph. This bottle makes an angel. 

Falstaff. And if it do, take it for thy labour; and 
if it make twenty, take them all ; I'll answer the coin- 
age. Bid my lieutenant Peto meet me at town's end. 

Bardolph. I will, captain : farewell. Exit 10 

Falstaff. If I be not asham'd of my soldiers, I am 
a sous'd gurnet. I have misus'd the king's press dam- 

Scene II I Scene III Pope. 

133. take a muster : ascertain the number of troops assembled. 

3. Sutton Co'nT. This is the colloquial pronunciation of Sut- 
ton Coldfield, a town about 24 miles west of Coventry. Quartos 
and Folios read ' Sutton-cop-hill.' 

6. makes an angel : brings our bill for wine up to an angel. 
The value of this gold coin was about ten shillings. It was stamped 
with the figure of the Archangel Michael. 

12. gurnet : gurnard, a fish supposed to be so called from the 
sound it makes when taken from the water. It was probably deemed 
a vulgar dish when ' soused ' or pickled, hence ( sous'd gurnet ' was a 
common term of reproach. — misus'd . . . press : misused the 
king's commission for impressing men into the military service. 



scene ii HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 1 19 

nably. I have got, in exchange of a hundred and fifty 
soldiers, three hundred and odd pounds. I press me 
none but good householders, yeomen's sons; inquire 
me out contracted bachelors, such as had been ask'd 
twice on the banns ; such a commodity of warm slaves, 
as had as lieve hear the devil as a drum; such as fear 
the report of a caliver worse than a struck fowl or a hurt 
wild-duck. I press'd me none but such toasts-and- 
butter, with hearts in their bellies no bigger than pins' 
heads, and they have bought out their services ; and now 
my whole charge consists of ancients, corporals, lieuten- 
ants, gentlemen of companies, slaves as ragged as Lazarus 
in the painted cloth, where the glutton's dogs lick'd his 
sores ; and such as indeed were never soldiers, but dis- 
carded unjust serving-men, younger sons to younger 
brothers, revolted tapsters and ostlers trade-fallen, the 

16-17. ask'd . . . banns. The law required that parties intend- 
ing marriage should have the banns ' asked,' i.e. publicly proclaimed, 
three times, in as many weeks, before the ceremony could take place. 
So that when the banns had been asked twice, the marriage day 
was pretty near. — warm: comfortably off, well-to-do. 

20-21. toasts-and-butter: cockneys. Cf. Moryson's Itinerary 
(161 7) : "Londoners, and all within the sound of Bow bell, are 
in reproach called cockneys, and eaters of buttered toasts." So in 
Beaumont and Fletcher's Wit without Money, V, ii: "They love 
young toasts and butter, Bow-bell suckers." 

23. ancients: ensigns. So Pistol is called 'ancient' in Henry V. 

25. painted cloth : tapestry. It was customary to have short 
sentences inscribed on the tapestry, and certain incidents of Scrip- 
ture depicted, so as to combine ornament and instruction. 

27-28. younger . . . brothers. "Raleigh in his Discourse on 
War uses this very expression for men of desperate fortune and 
wild adventure."— Johnson.— revolted tapsters: tapsters who have 
run away from their masters. 



120 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

cankers of a calm world and a long peace, ten times 
more dishonourable ragged than an old fac'd ancient: 
and such have I, to fill up the rooms of them that have 
bought out their services, that you would think that I 
had a hundred and fifty tatter'd prodigals lately come 
from swine-keeping, from eating draff and husks. A 
mad fellow met me on the way and told me I had unloaded 
all the gibbets and press'd the dead bodies. No eye 
hath seen such scarecrows. I'll not march through 
Coventry with them, that 's flat : nay, and the villains 
march wide betwixt the legs, as if they had gyves on ; 
for indeed I had the most of them out of prison. There 's 
but a shirt and a half in all my company ; and the half 
shirt is two napkins tack'd together and thrown over 
the shoulders like a herald's coat without sleeves ; and 
the shirt, to say the truth, stolen from my host at Saint 
Alban's, or the red-nose innkeeper of Daventry. But 
that 's all one ; they'll find linen enough on every hedge. 46 

Enter the Prince and Westmoreland 

Prince of Wales. How now, blown Jack ! how now, 
quilt ! 

41. but Rowe I not Q x Ff. 

29. cankers . . . peace. Nash, in his Pierce Penniless (1592), 
has a similar expression : " All the canker-worms that breed in the 
rust of peace." 

30. fac'd ancient: patched standard. The First Quarto reads 
'olde fazd'; the Folios have 'old-fac'd.' 'Ancient' was used both 
for 'standard-bearer' (line 23) and 'standard' (as here). 

47-48. blown . . . quilt. Both words have reference to Fal- 
staff's plumpness. The one supposes him to be plump with wind; 
the other, with cotton. 



scene ii HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 12 1 

Falstaff. What, Hal ! how now, mad wag ! what 
a devil dost thou in Warwickshire? My good Lord of 
Westmoreland, I cry you mercy : I thought your honour 
had already been at Shrewsbury. 52 

Westmoreland. Faith, Sir John, 'tis more than time 
that I were there, and you too ; but my powers are 
there already. The king, I can tell you, looks for us 
all : we must away all night. 

Falstaff. Tut, never fear me : I am as vigilant as a 
cat to steal cream. 58 

Prince of Wales. I think, to steal cream indeed, 
for thy theft hath already made thee butter. But tell 
me, Jack, whose fellows are these that come after? 

Falstaff. Mine, Hal, mine. 

Prince of Wales. I did never see such pitiful 
rascals. 64 

Falstaff. Tut, tut; good enough to toss; food for 
powder, food for powder; they'll fill a pit as well as 
better : tush, man, mortal men, mortal men. 

Westmoreland. Ay, but, Sir John, methinks they 
are exceeding poor and bare, too beggarly. 69 

Falstaff. Faith, for their poverty, I know not where 
they had that ; and for their bareness, I am sure they 
never learn' 1 that of me. 

Prince of Wales. No, I'll be sworn; unless you 
call three fingers on the ribs bare. But, sirrah, make 
haste: Percy is already in the field. 75 

56. all night Q | all to night Ff. 

51. cry you mercy: ask your pardon. Falstaff is pretending not 
to have recognized his lordship at first, and so makes an apology. 
65. to toss: to be impaled on the pikes of the enemy. 



122 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

Falstaff. What, is the king encamp'd? 

Westmoreland. He is, Sir John : I fear we shall stay- 
too long. 

Falstaff. Well, 
To the latter end of a fray and the beginning of a feast 
Fits a dull fighter and a keen guest. Exeunt 80 

Scene III. [The rebel camp near Shrewsbury] 
Enter Hotspur, Worcester, Douglas, and Vernon 

Hotspur. We'll fight with him to-night. 

Worcester. It may not be. 

Douglas. You give him then advantage. 

Vernon. Not a whit. 

Hotspur. Why say you so ? looks he not for supply ? 

Vernon. So do we. 

Hotspur. His is certain, ours is doubtful. 

Worcester. Good cousin, be advis'd; stir not to- 
night. 5 

Vernon. Do not, my lord. 

Douglas. You do not counsel well : 

You speak it out of fear and cold heart. 

Vernon. Do me no slander, Douglas: by my life, 
And I dare well maintain it with my life, 
If well-respected honour bid me on, 10 

I hold as little counsel with weak fear 
As you, my lord, or any Scot that this day lives : 
Let it be seen to-morrow in the battle 
Which of us fears. 

Scene III | Scene IV Pope. 
10. well-respected: ruled by reasonable considerations. 



scene in HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 123 

Douglas. Yea, or to-night. 

Vernon. Content. 

Hotspur. To-night, say I. 15 

Vernon. Come, come, it may not be. I wonder much, 
Being men of such great leading as you are, 
That you foresee not what impediments 
Drag back our expedition : certain horse 
Of my cousin Vernon's are not yet come up : 20 

Y^our uncle Worcester's horse came but to-day; 
And now their pride and mettle is asleep, 
Their courage with hard labour tame and dull, 
That not a horse is half the half of himself. 

Hotspur. So are the horses of the enemy 25 

In general, journey-bated and brought low : 
The better part of ours are full of rest. 

Worcester. The number of the king exceedeth ours : 
For God's sake, cousin, stay till all come in. 

The trumpet sounds a parley 

Enter Sir Walter Blunt 

Blunt. I come with gracious offers from the king, 30 
If you vouchsafe me hearing and respect. 

Hotspur. Welcome, Sir Walter Blunt ; and would to 
God 
You were of our determination ! 
Some of us love you well ; and even those some 
Envy your great deservings and good name, 35 

30. Scene V Pope. 

19. expedition: ability to make a rapid advance. 

26. journey-bated: weakened, exhausted by travel. 

27. full of rest: thoroughly rested. Cf. Julius Ccesar, IV, iii, 202. 



124 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

Because you are not of our quality, 
But stand against us like an enemy. 

Blunt. And God defend but still I should stand so, 
So long as out of limit and true rule 
You stand against anointed majesty. 40 

But to my charge. The king hath sent to know 
The nature of your griefs, and whereupon 
You conjure from the breast of civil peace 
Such bold hostility, teaching his duteous land 
Audacious cruelty. If that the king 45 

Have any way your good deserts forgot, 
Which he confesseth to be manifold, 
He bids you name your griefs ; and with all speed 
You shall have your desires with interest 
And pardon absolute for yourself and these 50 

Herein misled by your suggestion. 

Hotspur. The king is kind ; and well we know the 
king 
Knows at what time to promise, when to pay. 
My father and my uncle and myself 
Did give him that same royalty he wears ; 55 

And when he was not six and twenty strong, 
Sick in the world's regard, wretched and low, 
A poor unminded outlaw sneaking home, 
My father gave him welcome to the shore ; 
And when he heard him swear and vow to God 60 

He came but to be Duke of Lancaster, 

36. quality: fellowship, party. A very rare use of the word. 
48. griefs: grievances. The effect for the cause. 
51. suggestion: temptation, instigation to evil. Cf. The Tem- 
pest, II, i, 288. 



scene in HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 125 

To sue his livery and beg his peace, 

With tears of innocency and terms of zeal, 

My father, in kind heart and pity mov'd, 

Swore him assistance and perform'd it too. 65 

Now when the lords and barons of the realm 

Perceived Northumberland did lean to him, 

The more and less came in with cap and knee ; 

Met him in boroughs, cities, villages, 

Attended him on bridges, stood in lanes, 70 

Laid gifts before him, proffer'd him their oaths, 

Gave him their heirs, as pages follow'd him 

Even at the heels in golden multitudes. 

He presently, as greatness knows itself, 

Steps me a little higher than his vow 75 

Made to my father, while his blood was poor, 

Upon the naked shore at Ravenspurgh ; 

And now, forsooth, takes on him to reform 

Some certain edicts and some strait decrees 

That lie too heavy on the commonwealth, 80 

62. sue . . . peace. 'Sue one's livery' and 'beg one's peace' 
are old law terms, here used with strict propriety. On the death 
of a person who held by the tenure of knight's service, his heir, 
if under age, became a ward of the king's; but, if of age, he had a 
right to sue out a writ of ouster le main, that the king's hand might 
be taken off, and the land delivered to him. At the same time he 
offered his homage, that being the condition of his tenure; which 
was to beg the peaceable enjoyment of his lands. When Boling- 
broke was in exile, his father having died, the king denied him 
this right, and seized the lands to his own use. See Richard II, 
II, i, 203. 

68. more and less: great and small, men of all ranks. — with 
cap and knee. Cf. "cap and knee slaves," Timon of Athens, III, 
vi, 107. 

74. knows itself: becomes conscious of its power. 



126 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

Cries out upon abuses, seems to weep 

Over his country's wrongs ; and by this face, 

This seeming brow of justice, did he win 

The hearts of all that he did angle for ; 

Proceeded further ; cut me off the heads 85 

Of all the favourites that the absent king 

In deputation left behind him here, 

When he was personal in the Irish war. 

Blunt. Tut, I came not to hear this. 

Hotspur. Then to the point. 

In short time after, he depos'd the king ; 90 

Soon after that, deprived him of his life ; 
And in the neck of that, task'd the whole state ; 
To make that worse, suffer'd his kinsman March, 
Who is, if every owner were well plac'd, 
Indeed his king, to be engag'd in Wales, 95 

There without ransom to lie forfeited ; 
Disgrac'd me in my happy victories, 
Sought to entrap me by intelligence ; 
Rated mine uncle from the council-board ; 
In rage dismiss'd my father from the court ; 100 

Broke oath on oath, committed wrong on wrong, 

94. well Q 1 I Ff omit. 

88. personal: commanding in person, personally engaged. 

92. in the neck of: following immediately on. The metaphor is 
from the race course. Cf. Sonnets, cxxxi, 11 : "A thousand groans 
... On one another's neck do witness bear." — task'd: taxed. This 
is the original meaning of the word. 'Task' and 'tax' were often 
used interchangeably. Etymologically they are identical. 

95. engag'd : pledged as a hostage. So in V, ii, 44 : "And West- 
moreland, that was engag'd, did bear it." Cf. 'gage,' I, hi, 173, and 
see note. 



scene iv HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 127 

And in conclusion drove us to seek out 

This head of safety ; and withal to pry 

Into his title, the which we find 

Too indirect for long continuance. 105 

Blunt. Shall I return this answer to the king? 

Hotspur. Not so, Sir Walter : we'll withdraw awhile. 
Go to the king ; and let there be impawn 'd 
Some surety for a safe return again, 
And in the morning early shall my uncle no 

Bring him our purposes : and so farewell. 

Blunt. I would you would accept of grace and love. 

Hotspur. And may be so we shall. 

Blunt. Pray God you do. 

Exeunt 

Scene IV. [York. The Archbishop's palace'] 

Enter the Archbishop of York and Sir Michael 

Archbishop. Hie, good Sir Michael ; bear this sealed 
brief 
With winged haste to the lord marshal ;' 
This to my cousin Scroop, and all the rest 
To whom they are directed. If you knew 
How much they do import, you would make haste. 5 

Scene IV | Scene VI Pope. 

103. head of safety: armed force for protection. Cf. I, iii, 284; 
IV, i, 80 ; IV, iv, 25 ; V, i, 66. 

1. Sir Michael. Probably the Archbishop's chaplain, 'sir' being 
a courtesy title given to churchmen. — brief: short writing, letter, 
dispatch. 

2. lord marshal. Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk. 



128 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

Sir Michael. My good lord, 
I guess their tenour. 

Archbishop. Like enough you do. 

To-morrow, good Sir Michael, is a day 
Wherein the fortune of ten thousand men 
Must bide the touch ; for, sir, at Shrewsbury, 10 

As I am truly given to understand, 
The king with mighty and quick-raised power 
Meets with Lord Harry: and, I fear, Sir Michael, 
What with the sickness of Northumberland, 
Whose power was in the first proportion, 15 

And what with Owen Glendower's absence thence, 
Who with them was a rated sinew too 
And comes not in, o'er-rul'd by prophecies, 
I fear the power of Percy is too weak 
To wage an instant trial with the king. 20 

Sir Michael. Why, my good lord, you need not fear ; 
There is Douglas and Lord Mortimer. 

Archbishop. No, Mortimer is not there. 

Sir Michael. But there is Mordake, Vernon, Lord 
Harry Percy, 
And there is my Lord of Worcester and a head 25 

Of gallant warriors, noble gentlemen. 

Archbishop. And so there is: but yet the king hath 
drawn 
The special head of all the land together : 
The Prince of Wales, Lord John of Lancaster, 
The noble Westmoreland and warlike Blunt ; 30 

17. sinew Q x | firmely Ff. 

10. touch: touchstone (i.e. test, trial, proof). 

17. rated sinew : strength on which they reckoned. 



scene iv HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 129 

And many moe corrivals and dear men 
Of estimation and command in arms. 

Sir Michael. Doubt not, my lord, they shall be well 
oppos'd. 
Archbishop. I hope no less, yet needful 'tis to fear ; 
And, to prevent the worst, Sir Michael, speed : 35 

For if Lord Percy thrive not, ere the king 
Dismiss his power, he means to visit us, 
For he hath heard of our confederacy, 
And 'tis but wisdom to make strong against him: 
Therefore make haste. I must go write again 4 o 

To other friends; and so farewell, Sir Michael. Exeunt 

33. they Q l | he Ff. 

31. moe: more. The old comparative of 'many.' In Middle Eng- 
lish 'moe,' or 'mo,' was used of number and with collective nouns; 
'more' had reference specifically to size. 



ACT V 

Scene I. [The King's camp near Shrewsbury] 

Enter the King, Prince of Wales, Lord John of Lan- 
caster, Sir Walter Blunt, and Falstaff 

King Henry. How bloodily the sun begins to peer 
Above yon busky hill ! the day looks pale 
At his distemperature. 

Prince of Wales. The southern wind 

Doth play the trumpet to his purposes, 
And by his hollow whistling in the leaves 5 

Foretells a tempest and a blustering day. 

King Henry. Then with the losers let it sympathise, 
For nothing can seem foul to those that win. 

The trumpet sounds 

Enter Worcester [and Vernon] 

How now, my Lord of Worcester ! 'tis not well 

That you and I should meet upon such terms 10 

As now we meet. You have deceived our trust, 

And made us doff our easy robes of peace, 

2. busky Ff | bulky Q v 

Enter ... In the stage direction of the Quartos and Folios the 
Earl of Westmoreland is included, but he does not speak, and from 
V, ii, 29 (cf. IV, iii, 108-109) it is evident that he was at the rebel 
camp detained as a hostage for the safe return of Worcester. 

2. busky: wooded, bosky. Cf. The Tempest, IV, i, 81. 
130 



scene i HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 13 1 

To crush our old limbs in ungentle steel : 

This is not well, my lord, this is not well. 

What say you to it? will you again unknit 15 

This churlish knot of all-abhorred war ? 

And move in that obedient orb again 

Where you did give a fair and natural light, 

And be no more an exhal'd meteor, 

A prodigy of fear and a portent 20 

Of broached mischief to the unborn times ? 

Worcester. Hear me, my liege: 
For mine own part, I could be well content 
To entertain the lag-end of my life 
With quiet hours ; for I do protest, 25 

I have not sought the day of this dislike. 

King Henry. You have not sought it ! how comes it, 
then? 

Falstaff. Rebellion lay in his way, and he found it. 

Prince of Wales. Peace, chewet, peace! 

Worcester. It pleas'd your majesty to turn your looks 
Of favour from myself and all our house ; 31 

And yet I must remember you, my lord, 

25. do Ff I Q x omits. 

13. our old limbs. The king was at this time but thirty-seven 
years old. But in his development of historical characters Shake- 
speare's chief interest was to bring the substance of historic truth 
within the conditions of dramatic effect. 

17. obedient orb: orbit (or path) of obedience. Cf. V, iv, 65. 

29. chewet: chough (i.e. chatterer, prater). The word is found 
in Cotgrave: " chouette, a chough, cadesse, daw, jackdaw." The 
word also meant a "dish made of various kinds of meat or fish, 
chopped fine, and mixed with spices and fruits." — Murray. Bacon, 
in Sylva, has "chuetts, which are likewise minced meat." 



132 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

We were the first and dearest of your friends. 

For you my staff of office did I break 

In Richard's time ; and posted day and night 35 

To meet you on the way, and kiss your hand, 

When yet you were in place and in account 

Nothing so strong and fortunate as I. 

It was myself, my brother and his son, 

That brought you home and' boldly did outdare 40 

The dangers of the time. You swore to us, 

And you did swear that oath at Doncaster, 

That you did nothing purpose 'gainst the state ; 

Nor claim no further than your new-fall'n right, 

The seat of Gaunt, dukedom of Lancaster: 45 

To this we swore our aid. But in short space 

It rain'd down fortune showering on your head ; 

And such a flood of greatness fell on you, 

What with our help, what with the absent king, 

What with the injuries of a wanton time, 50 

The seeming sufferances that you had borne, 

And the contrarious winds that held the king 

So long in his unlucky Irish wars 

That all in England did repute him dead : 

And from this swarm of fair advantages 55 

You took occasion to be quickly woo'd 

To gripe the general sway into your hand ; 

Forgot your oath to us at Doncaster; 

58. Forgot . . . Doncaster. "At his comming unto Doncaster, 
the earle of Northumberland, and his sonne sir Henry Persie, war- 
dens of the marches against Scotland, with the earle of Westmer- 
land, came unto him, where he sware unto those lords, that he 
would demand no more than the lands that were to him descended 
by inheritance from his father, and in right of his wife." — Holinshed. 



scene i HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 133 

And being fed by us you us'd us so 

As that ungentle gull, the cuckoo's bird, 60 

Useth the sparrow ; did oppress our nest ; 

Grew by our feeding to so great a bulk 

That even our love durst not come near your sight 

For fear of swallowing ; but with nimble wing 

We were enforc'd, for safety sake, to fly 65 

Out of your sight and raise this present head ; 

Whereby we stand opposed by such means 

As you yourself have forg'd against yourself 

By unkind usage, dangerous countenance, 

And violation of all faith and troth 70 

Sworn to us in your younger enterprise. 

King Henry. These things indeed you have articulate, 
Proclaim'd at market-crosses, read in churches, 
To face the garment of rebellion 
With some fine colour that may please the eye 75 

72. articulate Q 1 | articulated Ff. 

60. gull: unfledged bird. Cf. Timon of Athens, II, i, 31-32 : "a 
naked gull, Which flashes now a phoenix." In Elizabethan slang, a 
'gull' was a fool or a dupe, as in the title of Dekker's work, The 
Gull's Hornbook. — cuckoo's bird: young cuckoo. Shakespeare has 
many references to the extraordinary habits of the cuckoo in usurp- 
ing the nests of other birds, especially that of the hedge-sparrow, 
and leaving her egg to be hatched there by the foster-bird. In 
Holland's translation of Pliny's Natural History, first published in 
1 601, is a remarkable account of these habits of the cuckoo min- 
gled with not a few folk-stories on the subject, but the birds whose 
nests are usurped are given there as the stock-dove and the 'titling.' 
Shakespeare seems to be the first writer to refer to the usurpation 
of the hedge-sparrow's nest, and this we owe not improbably to his 
own personal observation. 

67. we stand opposed : we stand in opposition to you. 

72. articulate: set down in articles. See Abbott, §342. 



1^ 



134 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE actv 

Of fickle changelings and poor discontents, 

Which gape and rub the elbow at the news 

Of hurlyburly innovation : 

And never yet did insurrection want 

Such water-colours to impaint his cause ; 80 

Nor moody beggars, starving for a time 

Of pellmell havoc and confusion. 

Prince of Wales. In both your armies there is many 
a soul 
Shall pay full dearly for this encounter, 
If once they join in trial. Tell your nephew, 85 

The Prince of Wales doth join with all the world 
In praise of Henry Percy : by my hopes, 
This present enterprise set off his head, 
I do not think a braver gentleman, 
More active-valiant or more valiant-young, 90 

More daring or more bold, is now alive 
To grace this latter age with noble deeds. 
For my part, I may speak it to my shame, 
I have a truant been to chivalry ; 

And so I hear he doth account me too ; 95 

Yet this before my father's majesty — 
I am content that he shall take the odds 
Of his great name and estimation, 
And will, to save the blood on either side, 
Try fortune with him in a single fight. 100 

83. your 1 I our Ff. 88. off Ff | of Q v 

76. discontents: discontented persons. 

77. rub the elbow. A way of expressing satisfaction. So in 
Love's Labour's Lost, V, ii, 109. 

80. water-colours. Faint, specious, and transitory. 
88. His present rebellion being struck from his record. 



scene i HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 135 

King Henry. And, Prince of Wales, so dare we ven- 
ture thee, 
Albeit considerations infinite 
Do make against it. No, good Worcester, no, 
We love our people well ; even those we love 
That are misled upon your cousin's part ; 105 

And, will they take the offer of our grace, 
Both he and they and you, yea, every man 
Shall be my friend again and I'll be his : 
So tell your cousin, and bring me word 
What he will do : but if he will not yield, no 

Rebuke and dread correction wait on us 
And they shall do their office. So, be gone ; 
We will not now be troubled with reply : 
We offer fair; take it advisedly. 

Exeunt Worcester [and Vernon] 

Prince of Wales. It will not be accepted, on my life : 
The Douglas and the Hotspur both together 116 

Are confident against the world in arms. 

King Henry. Hence, therefore, every leader to his 
charge ; 
For, on their answer, will we set on them : 
And God befriend us, as our cause is just ! 120 

Exeunt all but the Prince of Wales and Falstaff 

Falstaff. Hal, if thou see me down in the battle and 
bestride me, so ; 'tis a point of friendship. 

121. Scene II Pope. 
122. bestride me: defend me by standing over me. In the battle 
of Agincourt, Prince Henry, then king, did this act of friendship for 
his brother, the Duke of Gloucester. Cf. Comedy of Errors, V, i, 
192: "When I bestrid thee in the wars, and took Deep scars, to 
save thy life." 



136 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

Prince of Wales. Nothing but a colossus can do 
thee that friendship. Say thy prayers, and farewell. 124 

Falstaff. I would 'twere bed-time, Hal, and all well. 

Prince of Wales. Wiry, thou owest God a death. 

Exit 

Falstaff. 'Tis not due yet ; I would be loath to pay 
him before his day. What need I be so forward with 
him that calls not on me ? Well, 'tis no matter ; honour 
pricks me on. Yea, but how if honour prick me off when 
I come on ? how then ? Can honour set to a leg ? no : or 
an arm ? no : or take away the grief of a wound ? no. 
Honour hath no skill in surgery, then? no. What is 
honour? a word. What is in that word honour? what 
is that honour ? air. A trim reckoning ! Who hath it ? 
he that died o' Wednesday. Doth he feel it? no. Doth 
he hear it? no. Tis insensible, then? Yea, to the dead. 
But will it not live with the living? no. Why? de- 
traction will not suffer it. Therefore I'll none of it. 
Honour is a mere scutcheon : and so ends my catechism. 

Exit 

Scene II. [The rebel camp] 

Enter Worcester and Vernon 

Worcester. O, no, my nephew must not know, Sir 
Richard, 
The liberal and kind offer of the king. 
Vernon. 'Twere best he did. 
Worcester. Then are we all undone. 

Scene II | Scene III Pope. 3. undone Ff | under one Q v 

140. scutcheon: heraldic emblazonry, that can do nothing. 



scene ii HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 137 

It is not possible, it cannot be, 

The king should keep his word in loving us ; 5 

He will suspect us still and find a time 

To punish this offence in other faults : 

Suspicion all our lives shall be stuck full of eyes ; 

For treason is but trusted like the fox, 

Who, ne'er so tame, so cherish'd and lock'd up, 10 

Will have a wild trick of his ancestors. 

Look how we can, or sad or merrily, 

Interpretation will misquote our looks, 

And we shall feed like oxen at a stall, 

The better cherish'd, still the nearer death. 15 

My nephew's trespass may be well forgot ; 

It hath the excuse of youth and heat of blood, 

And an adopted name of privilege, 

A hare-brain'd Hotspur, govern'd by a spleen : 

All his offences live upon my head 20 

And on his father's ; we did train him on, 

And, his corruption being ta'en from us, 

We, as the spring of all, shall pay for all. 

Therefore, good cousin, let not Harry know, 

In any case, the offer of the king. 25 

Vernon. Deliver what you will ; I'll say 'tis so. 
Here comes your cousin. 

Enter Hotspur [and Douglas] 

Hotspur. My uncle is return'd : 
Deliver up my Lord of Westmoreland. 
Uncle, what news? 3° 

8. Suspicion Rowe | Supposition Q{Pi. 
11. wild trick: "dash of the wildness."— Herford. 



138 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

Worcester. The king will bid you battle presently. 

Douglas. Defy him by the Lord of Westmoreland. 

Hotspur. Lord Douglas, go you and tell him so. 

Douglas. Marry, and shall, and very willingly. 

Exit 

Worcester. There is no seeming mercy in the king. 

Hotspur. Did you beg any ? God forbid ! 36 

Worcester. I told him gently of our grievances, 
Of his oath-breaking ; which he mended thus, 
By now forswearing that he is forsworn : 
He calls us rebels, traitors ; and will scourge 40 

With haughty arms this hateful name in us. 

Re-enter Douglas 

Douglas. Arm, gentlemen ; to arms! for I have thrown 
A brave defiance in King Henry's teeth, 
And Westmoreland, that was engag'd, did bear it; 
Which cannot choose but bring him quickly on. 45 

Worcester. The Prince of Wales stepp'd forth before 
the king, 
And, nephew, challenged you to single fight. 

Hotspur. O, would the quarrel lay upon our heads, 
And that no man might draw short breath to-day 
But I and Harry Monmouth ! Tell me, tell me, 50 

How show'd his tasking? seem'd it in contempt? 

42. Scene IV Pope. 51. tasking Q x | talking Ff. 

44. engag'd: delivered up as hostage. So Hotspur retained West- 
moreland for the safe return of Worcester. 

50. Monmouth. Prince Henry was so surnamed from the town 
of Monmouth in Wales, where he was born. 

51. How . . . tasking: how did his challenge to fight sound? 



scene ii HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 139 

Vernon. No, by my soul ; I never in my life 
Did hear a challenge urg'd more modestly, 
Unless a brother should a brother dare 
To gentle exercise and proof of arms. 55 

He gave you all the duties of a man ; 
Trimm'd up your praises with a princely tongue, 
Spoke your deservings like a chronicle, 
Making you ever better than his praise 
By still dispraising praise valued with you ; 60 

And, which became him like a prince indeed, 
He made a blushing cital of himself ; 
And chid his truant youth with such a grace 
As if he mast'red there a double spirit 
Of teaching and of learning instantly. 65 

There did he pause : but let me tell the world, 
If he outlive the envy of this day, 
England did never owe so sweet a hope, 
So much misconstrued in his wantonness. 

Hotspur. Cousin, I think thou art enamoured 70 

On his follies : never did I hear 
Of any prince so wild a libertine. 
But be he as he will, yet once ere night 
I will embrace him with a soldier's arm, 
That he shall shrink under my courtesy. 75 

72. a libertine Capell | a libertie Q x | at liberty Ff. 

56. He ascribed to you all the due merits of a hero. 
60. By always declaring that no words of praise sufficiently 
measured up to your merits. ( 

62. cital: mention, statement. Not a contraction of 'recital. 

67. envy: enmity, malice. Cf. Richard II, II, i, 49- 

68. owe: own, possess. Often so in Shakespeare. 

72. so wild a libertine: using his freedom so wantonly. 



140 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE actv 

Arm, arm with speed : and, fellows, soldiers, friends, 
Better consider what you have to do 
Than I, that have not well the gift of tongue, 
Can lift your blood up with persuasion. 

Enter a Messenger 

Messenger. My lord, here are letters for you. 80 

Hotspur. I cannot read them now. 
O gentlemen, the time of life is short ! 
To spend that shortness basely were too long, 
If life did ride upon a dial's point, 
Still ending at the arrival of an hour. 85 

An if we live, we live to tread on kings ; 
If die, brave death, when princes die with us ! 
Now, for our consciences, the arms are fair, 
When the intent of bearing them is just. 

Enter another Messenger 

Messenger. My lord, prepare ; the king comes on 
apace. 90 

Hotspur. I thank him, that he cuts me from my tale, 
For I profess not talking; only this — 
Let each man do his best : and here draw I 
A sword, whose temper I intend to stain 
With the best blood that I can meet withal 95 

In the adventure of this perilous day. 

80. Scene V Pope. 93. draw I Q x | I draw Ff. 

77-79. You can prepare yourselves for the fight much better than 
I, who am no orator, can kindle your ardor by my eloquence. 

83-85. If life were vastly shorter than it is, to be measured by 
a single hour, it were still too long to be spent basely. 



scene in HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 141 

Now, Esperance! Percy! and set on. 

Sound all the lofty instruments of war, 

And by that music let us all embrace ; 

For, heaven to earth, some of us never shall 100 

A second time do such a courtesy. 

The trumpets sound. They embrace, and exeunt 



Scene III. [Plain between the camps'] 

The King enters with his power. Alarum to the battle. 
Then enter Douglas and Sir Walter Blunt 

Blunt. What is thy name, that in the battle thus 
Thou crossest me? what honour dost thou seek 
Upon my head? 

Douglas. Know then, my name is Douglas; 

And I do haunt thee in the battle thus 
Because some tell me that thou art a king. 5 

Blunt. They tell thee true. 

Douglas. The Lord of Stafford dear to-day hath bought 
Thy likeness, for instead of thee, King Harry, 
This sword hath ended him : so shall it thee, 
Unless thou yield thee as my prisoner. 10 

Blunt. I was not born a yielder, thou proud Scot ; 
And thou shalt find a king that will revenge 
Lord Stafford's death. They fight. Douglas kills Blunt 

Scene III Capell | Scene VI Pope. i. the Hanmer | Q x Ff omit. 

97. Esperance. Hotspur makes this motto of the Percy family 
his battle-cry. So in Holinshed: "Then suddenlie blew the trum- 
pets, the kings part crieng S. George upon them, the adversaries cried 
Esperance, Persie, and so the two armies furiouslie joined." 

100. heaven to earth. A wager of heaven against earth. 



142 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

Enter Hotspur 

Hotspur. O Douglas, hadst thou fought at Holmedon 
thus, 
I never had triumph'd upon a Scot. 15 

Douglas. All's done, all's won; here breathless lies 
the king. 

Hotspur. Where ? 

Douglas. Here. 

Hotspur. This, Douglas ? no : I know this face full well : 
A gallant knight he was, his name was Blunt ; 20 

Semblably furnish'd like the king himself. 

Douglas. A fool go with thy soul, whither it goes ! 
A borrow'd title hast thou bought too dear : 
Why didst thou tell me that thou wert a king? 24 

Hotspur. The king hath many marching in his coats. 

Douglas. Now, by my sword, I will kill all his coats ; 
I'll murder all his wardrobe, piece by piece, 
Until I meet the king. 

Hotspur. Up, and away! 

Our soldiers stand full fairly for the day. Exeunt 29 

Alarum. Enter Falstaff, solus 

Falstaff. Though I could scape shot-free at London, 
I fear the shot here ; here 's no scoring but upon the pate. 

30. Scene VII Pope. 

ax. Semblably . . . like: resembling in his equipment. 

22. A fool go . . . goes: "go thy ways, fool that thou art." — 
Schmidt. Capell's emendation. The Quartos read, "Ah foole, 
go . . ."; the Folios, "Ah foole: go . . ." 

30. shot-free: scot-free, without charge. 

31. scoring. Falstaff has tavern thoughts and customs running 



scene in HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 143 

Soft! who are you? Sir Walter Blunt: there's honour 
for you ! here 's no vanity ! I am as hot as molten lead, 
and as heavy too : God keep lead out of me ! I need 
no more weight than mine own bowels. I have led my 
ragamuffins where they are pepper'd: there's not three 
of my hundred and fifty left alive ; and they are for the 
town's end, to beg during life. But who comes here ? 

Enter the Prince 

Prince of Wales. What, stand'st thou idle here? 
lend me thy sword : 
Many a nobleman lies stark and stiff 40 

Under the hoofs of vaunting enemies, 
Whose deaths are yet unreveng'd : I prithee, lend me thy 
sword. 

Falstaff. O Hal, I prithee, give me leave to breathe 
awhile. Turk Gregory never did such deeds in arms as 
I have done this day. I have paid Percy, I have made 
him sure. 46 

Prince of Wales. He is, indeed ; and living to kill 
thee. I prithee, lend me thy sword. 

Falstaff. Nay, before God, Hal, if Percy be alive, 
thou get'st not my sword ; but take my pistol, if thou 
wilt. 51 

in his mind; the mode of an innkeeper's accounts being to 'score' 
the items either by chalk-marks made upon the wall or by notches 
cut in a stick. 

33. no vanity. Used ironically, to indicate the excess of a thing ; 
a frequent usage in colloquial speech. 

37-38. for the town's end: on the way to live at the gates 
of London (a common station for beggars). 

44. Turk Gregory. The reference is to the famous Hildebrand, 
who took the papal name of Gregory VII. 



144 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

Prince of Wales. Give it me : what, is it in the case ? 

Falstaff. Ay, Hal; 'tis hot, 'tis hot; there's that 
will sack a city. 

The Prince draws it out, and finds it to be a 

bottle of sack 

Prince of Wales. What, is it a time to jest and dally 
now? He throws the bottle at him. Exit 56 

Falstaff. Well, if Percy be alive, I'll pierce him. If 
he do come in my way, so : if he do not, if I come in his 
willingly, let him make a carbonado of me. I like not 
such grinning honour as Sir Walter hath : give me life : 
which if I can save, so; if not, honour comes unlook'd 
for, and there's an end. Exit 62 

Scene IV. [Another part of the field] 

Alarum. Excursions. Enter the King, the Prince, Lord 
John of Lancaster, and Earl of Westmoreland 

King Henry. I prithee, 
Harry, withdraw thyself ; thou bleed'st too much. 
Lord John of Lancaster, go you with him. 

Lancaster. Not I, my lord, unless I did bleed too. 

Prince of Wales. I beseech your majesty, make up, 
Lest your retirement do amaze your friends. 6 

Scene IV Capell | Scena Tertia Ff | Scene VIII Pope. 

57. 'Pierce' and the first syllable of 'Percy' were sounded alike. 

59. carbonado: piece of meat slashed into strips for roasting 
or broiling. Cf. Coriolanus, IV, v, 199: "he scotch'd him and 
notch'd him like a carbonado." 

5. make up : advance to your post as commander-in-chief. 

6. amaze : bewilder, cast into a maze. The original sense. 



scene iv HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 145 

King Henry. I will do so. 
My Lord of Westmoreland, lead him to his tent. 
Westmoreland. Come, my lord, I'll lead you to your 

tent. 
Prince of Wales. Lead me, my lord? I do not need 
your help : 10 

And God forbid a shallow scratch should drive 
The Prince of Wales from such a field as this, 
Where stain'd nobility lies trodden on, 
And rebels' arms triumph in massacres ! 

Lancaster. We breathe too long : come, cousin West- 
moreland, 15 
Our duty this way lies ; for God's sake, come. 

Exeunt Prince John and Westmoreland 
Prince of Wales. By God, thou hast deceiv'd me, 
Lancaster ; 
I did not think thee lord of such a spirit : 
Before, I lov'd thee as a brother, John ; 
But now, I do respect thee as my soul. 20 

King Henry. I saw him hold Lord Percy at the point 
With lustier maintenance than I did look for 
Of such an ungrown warrior. 

Prince of Wales. O, this boy 

Lends mettle to us all ! Exit 

14. The battle of Shrewsbury took place in July, 1403, when 
Prince Henry was but sixteen years old. It appears, however, that, 
boy as he was, he did the work of a man. Holinshed relates that 
early in the battle he was hurt in the face with an arrow, insomuch 
that several tried to withdraw him from the field; but that he, 
fearing the effect this might have on his men, insisted on staying 
with them to the last, and never ceased to fight where the battle 
was hottest. 



146 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE actv 

Enter Douglas 

Douglas. Another king! they grow like Hydra's 
heads : 25 

I am the Douglas, fatal to all those 
That wear those colours on them : what art thou, 
That counterfeit'st the person of a king? 

King Henry. The king himself; who, Douglas, 
grieves at heart 
So many of his shadows thou hast met 30 

And not the very king. I have two boys 
Seek Percy and thyself about the field: 
But, seeing thou f all's t on me so luckily, 
I will assay thee : so, defend thyself. 

Douglas. I fear thou art another counterfeit ; 35 
And yet, in faith, thou bear'st thee like a king : 
But mine I am sure thou art, whoe'er thou be, 
And thus I win thee. 

They fight; the King being in danger, re-enter 

Prince of Wales 
Prince of Wales. Hold up thy head, vile Scot, or 
thou art like 
Never to hold it up again ! the spirits 40 

2 5-39- " Th i s battell lasted three long houres, with indifferent for- 
tune on both parts, till at length the king, crieng saint George, 
victorie, brake the arraie of his enemies, and adventured so farre, 
that (as some write) the earle Dowglas strake him downe, and at 
that instant slue sir Walter Blunt and three others, apparalled in 
the kings sute and clothing, saieng, I marvell to see so many kings 
thus suddenlie arise, one in the necke of an other. The king in- 
deed was raised, and did that daie manie a noble feat of amies; 
for, as it is written, he slue that daie with his owne hands, six and 
thirtie persons of his enemies." — Holinshed. 



scene iv HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 147 

Of valiant Shirley, Stafford, Blunt, are in my arms: 
It is the Prince of Wales that threatens thee ; 
Who never promiseth but he means to pay. 

They fight : Douglas flies 
Cheerly, my lord : how fares your grace ? 
Sir Nicholas Gawsey hath for succour sent, 45 

And so hath Clifton : I'll to Clifton straight. 

King Henry. Stay, and breathe awhile : 
Thou hast redeem'd thy lost opinion, 
And show'd thou mak'st some tender of my life, 
In this fair rescue thou hast brought to me. 50 

Prince of Wales. O God ! they did me too much 
injury 
That ever said I heark'ned for your death. 
If it were so, I might have let alone 
The insulting hand of Douglas over you, 
Which would have been as speedy in your end 55 

As all the poisonous potions in the world 
And saved the treacherous labour of your son. 

King Henry. Make up to Clifton : I'll to Sir Nicho- 
las Gawsey. Exit 

Enter Hotspur 

Hotspur. If I mistake not, thou art Harry Monmouth. 
Prince of Wales. Thou speak'st as if I would deny 
my name. 60 

Hotspur. My name is Harry Percy. 
Prince of Wales Why, then I see 

A very valiant rebel of the name. 

59. Scene ix Pope. 
48. opinion : reputation. As in IV, i, 77, and elsewhere. 



148 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE actv 

I am the Prince of Wales ; and think not, Percy, 

To share with me in glory any more : 

Two stars keep not their motion in one sphere ; 65 

Nor can one England brook a double reign, 

Of Harry Percy and the Prince of Wales. 

Hotspur. Nor shall it, Harry ; for the hour is come 
To end the one of us ; and would to God 
Thy name in arms were now as great as mine ! 70 

Prince of Wales. I'll make it greater ere I part from 
thee; 
And all the budding honours on thy crest 
I'll crop, to make a garland for my head. 

Hotspur. I can no longer brook thy vanities. 

They fight 
Enter Falstaff 

Falstaff. Well said, Hal ! to it, Hal ! Nay, you 
shall find no boy's play here, I can tell you. 76 

Re-enter Douglas ; he fights with Falstaff, who jails 
down as if he were dead [and exit Douglas. Hot- 
spur is wounded, and falls] 

Hotspur. O, Harry, thou hast robb'd me of my 
youth ! 
I better brook the loss of brittle life 
Than those proud titles thou hast won of me ; 
They wound my thoughts worse than thy sword my flesh : 

68. Nor Ff I Now Q v 69. God Q x | heaven Ff. 

65. sphere: orbit. The figure is from the Ptolemaic astronomy. 
75. Well said: well done. Cf. Romeo and Juliet, I, v, 88. 
77. youth: reputation for youthful courage. 



scene iv HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 149 

But thought's the slave of life, and life time's fool ; 81 
And time, that takes survey of all the world, 
Must have a stop. O, I could prophesy, 
But that the earthy and cold hand of death 
Lies on my tongue: no, Percy, thou art dust, 85 

And food for— Dies 

Prince of Wales. For worms, brave Percy : fare 
thee well, great heart! 
Ill-weav'd ambition, how much art thou shrunk! 
When that this body did contain a spirit, 
A kingdom for it was too small a bound ; 90 

But now two paces of the vilest earth 
Is room enough : this earth that bears thee dead 
Bears not alive so stout a gentleman. 
If thou wert sensible of courtesy, 

I should not make so dear a show of zeal : 95 

But let my favours hide thy mangled face; 
And, even in thy behalf, I'll thank myself 
For doing these fair rites of tenderness. 
Adieu, and take thy praise with thee to heaven ! 
Thy ignominy sleep with thee in the grave, 100 

But not rememb'red in thy epitaph! 

[He spieth Falstaff on the ground 
What, old acquaintance ! could not all this flesh 
Keep in a little life? Poor Jack, farewell! 

95. dear Q t | great Ff. 100. ignominy Q!F 3 F 4 | ignomy F^. 

81-83. But thought is in subjection to this mortal life, and life 
itself is the sport of time. Cf. Sonnets, cxvi, 9. The First Quarto 
reads "thoughts the slaves . . ." 

96. favours: the silken scarf sometimes worn over armor. So 
called, says Cowden Clarke, because such adornments were often 
the gift of some favorite lady to her favored knight. 



150 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

I could have better spar'd a better man : 
O, I should have a heavy miss of thee, 105 

If I were much in love in vanity ! 
Death hath not struck so fat a deer to-day, 
Though many dearer, in this bloody fray. 
Embowell'd will I see thee by and by : 
Till then in blood by noble Percy lie. Exit no 

Falstaff. (Rising up) Embowell'd! if thou embowel 
me to-day, I'll give you leave to powder me and eat me 
too to-morrow. 'Sblood, 'twas time to counterfeit, or that 
hot termagant Scot had paid me scot and lot too. Coun- 
terfeit ? I lie, I am no counterfeit : to die, is to be a coun- 
terfeit ; for he is but the counterfeit of a man who hath 
not the life of a man : but to counterfeit dying, when a 
man thereby liveth, is to be no counterfeit, but the true 
and perfect image of life indeed. The better part of valour 
is discretion ; in the which better part I have saved my 
life. 'Zounds, I am afraid of this gunpowder Percy, 
though he be dead : how, if he should counterfeit too 
and rise? by my faith, I am afraid he would prove the 
better counterfeit. Therefore I'll make him sure ; yea, 
and I'll swear I kill'd him. Why may not he rise as well 
as I ? Nothing confutes me but eyes, and nobody sees me. 
Therefore, sirrah [stabbing him], with a new wound in 
your thigh, come you along with me. 128 

Takes up Hotspur on his back 

in. Scene X Pope. 121. 'Zounds Q x | Ff omit. 

113. 'Sblood Q^ I Ff omit. 123. by . . . faith Q t | Ff omit. 
115. I lie Qi I Ff omit. 127. with Qi | FjFo omit. 

109. Embowell'd. As a preparation for embalming. 
112. powder: sprinkle with a powdered condiment, salt. 

114. scot and lot: tax levied on everyone. 



scene iv HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 151 

Re-enter the Prince of Wales and Lord John of 
Lancaster 

Prince of Wales. Come, brother John ; full bravely 
hast thou flesh'd 
Thy maiden sword. 

Lancaster. But, soft ! whom have we here ? 130 

Did you not tell me this fat man was dead ? 

Prince of Wales. I did ; I saw him dead, 
Breathless and bleeding on the ground. Art thou alive? 
Or is it fantasy that plays upon our eyesight ? 
I prithee, speak ; we will not trust our eyes 135 

Without our ears : thou art not what thou seem'st. 

Falstaff. No, that 's certain ; I am not a double 
man : but if I be not Jack Falstaff, then am I a Jack. 
There is Percy [throwing the body down] : if your father 
will do me any honour, so ; if not, let him kill the next 
Percy himself. I look to be either earl or duke, I can 
assure you. i 42 

Prince of Wales. Why, Percy I kill'd myself and 
saw thee dead. 

Falstaff. Didst thou? Lord, Lord, how this world 
is given to lying ! I grant you I was down and out of 
breath ; and so was he : but we rose both at an instant 
and fought a long hour by Shrewsbury clock. If I may 
be believ'd, so ; if not, let them that should reward valour 
bear the sin upon their own heads. I'll take it upon my 
death, I gave him this wound in the thigh: if the man 

129. Scene XI Pope. 130. whom Q x | who Ff. 

129. flesh'd. As used in Henry V, II, iv, 50, and elsewhere, 
'flesh'd' involves a figure taken from the old habit of rewarding 
hounds or hawks with a portion of the first game they killed. 



152 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE actv 

were alive and would deny it, 'zounds, I would make him 

eat a piece of my sword. 152 

Lancaster. This is the strangest tale that ever I 

heard. 
Prince of Wales. This is the strangest fellow, brother 
John. 
Come, bring your luggage nobly on your back: 155 

For my part, if a lie may do thee grace, 
I'll gild it with the happiest terms I have. 

A retreat is sounded 
The trumpet sounds retreat ; the day is ours. 
Come, brother, let us to the highest of the field, 
To see what friends are living, who are dead. 160 

Exeunt [Prince of Wales and Lancaster] 
Falstaff. I'll follow, as they say, for reward. He 
that rewards me, God reward him ! If I do grow great, 
I'll grow less ; for I'll purge, and leave sack, and live 
cleanly as a nobleman should do. Exit 



Scene V. [Another part of the field] 

The trumpets sound. Enter the King, Prince of Wales, 

Lord John of Lancaster, Earl of Westmoreland, 

with Worcester and Vernon prisoners 

King Henry. Thus ever did rebellion find rebuke. 
Ill-spirited Worcester ! did not we send grace, 
Pardon and terms of love to all of you? 
And wouldst thou turn our offers contrary ? 
Misuse the tenour of thy kinsman's trust? 5 

162. great Qq | great again Ff. 2. not we Q x J we not Ff. 



scene v HENRY THE FOURTH, PART I 153 

Three knights upon our party slain to-day, 

A noble earl and many a creature else 

Had been alive this hour, 

If like a Christian thou hadst truly borne 

Betwixt our armies true intelligence. 10 

Worcester. What I have done my safety urg'd me to; 
And I embrace this fortune patiently, 
Since not to be avoided it falls on me. 

King Henry. Bear Worcester to the death and Ver- 
non too : 
Other offenders we will pause upon. 15 

Exeunt Worcester and Vernon, [guarded] 
How goes the field ? 

Prince of Wales. The noble Scot, Lord Douglas, 
when he saw 
The fortune of the day quite turn'd from him, 
The noble Percy slain, and all his men 
Upon the foot of fear, fled with the rest ; 20 

And falling from a hill, he was so bruis'd 
That the pursuers took him. At my tent 
The Douglas is ; and I beseech your grace 
I may dispose of him. 

King Henry. With all my heart. 

Prince of Wales. Then, brother John of Lancaster, 
to you 25 

14. the death Q x | death Ff. 

21-22. "To conclude, the kings enemies were vanquished and put 
to flight, in which flight the earle of Dowglas, for hast [haste], 
falling from the crag of an hie mounteine . . . was taken, and, for 
his valiantnesse, of the king frankelie and freelie delivered." — 
Holinshed. 



154 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE actv 

This honourable bounty shall belong: 

Go to the Douglas, and deliver him 

Up to his pleasure, ransomless and free : 

His valour shown upon our crests to-day 

Hath taught us how to cherish such high deeds 30 

Even in the bosom of our adversaries. 

Lancaster. I thank your grace for this high courtesy, 
Which I shall give away immediately. 

King Henry. Then this remains, that we divide our 
power. 
You, son John, and my cousin Westmoreland 35 

Towards York shall bend you with your dearest speed, 
To meet Northumberland and the prelate Scroop, 
Who, as we hear, are busily in arms : 
Myself and you, son Harry, will towards Wales, 
To fight with Glendower and the Earl of March. 40 

Rebellion in this land shall lose his sway, 
Meeting the check of such another day : 
And since this business so fair is done, 
Let us not leave till all our own be won. Exeunt 

32-33. Ff omit. 41. sway Q 1 | way Ff. 

35-38. "The earle of Northumberland was now marching for- 
ward, with great power which he had got thither, either to aid his 
sonne and brother (as was thought) or at the least towards the 
king, to procure a peace: but the earle of Westmerland, and sir 
Robert Waterton, knight, had got an armie on foot, and meant to 
meet him." — Holinshed. 

43. business. A trisyllable, as often in Elizabethan verse. 






INDEX 



This Index includes the most important words, phrases, etc. explained in 
the notes. The figures in heavy-faced type refer to the pages ; those in plain 
type, to the lines containing what is explained. 



a fool go . . . goes : 
142 oo 

abundance of charge : 

39 55 
accidents : 20 209 
accordingly : 21 3 
Act V, Scene 1 : 130 1 
admiral : 101 23 
advertisement: 100 172 
All-hallown : 18 161 
Amamon : 68 336 
amaze : 144 6 
an (if) : 36 l 
ancient (flag) : 120 30 
ancients (ensigns) : 

119 22 
and (if) : 15 98; 15 103; 

38 26 
and if : 27 125 
angel (coin) : 118 6 
anon : 36 4 ; 54 25-26 
antic : 13 61 
apple-john : 100 4 
appointment: 19 178 
approve : 1119 
arbitrament: 114 70 
arras : 75 492 
articulate : 133 72 
as: 111 4 
ask'd . . . banns : 119 

16-17 
aspects : 8 97 
at half-sword : 61 163 
attempts : 92 13 
auditor : 39 54 



aunt Percy : 87 196 

baffle : 15 103 

bagpipe : 14 77 

balk'd: 6 69 

ballads . . . you : 44 44 

bands : 99 157 

Barbary : 57 74 

Bardolph: 18 164 

basilisks : 49 52 

bastard : 54 26 

bated : 116 99 

Battle of Shrewsbury : 
145 14; 146 25 

bavin : 95 61 

beat Cut's saddle : 36 5 

beaver: 116 104 

become . . . cart : 75 
489 

belie him : 26 113 

bestride me : 135 122 

better consider . . . per- 
suasion : 140 77-79 

blood : 92 6 

blown . . . quilt : 120 
48-49 

blue caps : 69 356 

Boars'-Head Tavern : 
53 1 

Bolingbroke : 32 241 

bolters : 104 68 

bolting-hutch : 73 444 

bombard : 73 445 

bombast : 68 327 

book : 89 223 

boots : 41 79 ; 41 80 

155 



both : 29 173 
bots : 37 16 
bottom : 83 105 
brach : 90 237 
brawn : 58 109 
break with : 85 144 
breathe . . . watering: 

54 15-16 
brief : 127 1 
bring in : 11 35 
brown bastard : 56 72 
buff jerkin : 12 45 
buffets : 48 30-31 
business : 154 43 
busky : 130 2 
by the Lord : 11 38 
by the squier : 42 12 
by-drinkings : 104 72 
by'r lady : 54 44 
caddis-garter : 56 70 
candy deal of courtesy : 

33 251 
canker : 29 176 
cankers . . . peace : 

120 29 
cank'red : 27 137 
canstick : 84 131 
cantle : 83 100 
capital : 97 110 
capitulate : 97 120 
carbonado : 144 59 
carded his state : 95 62 
cates : 86 163 
cess : 36 7 
chamberlain : 39 44 



i56 



THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 



changelings : 8 89 
changing hardiment : 

25 ]0i 
Charing-cross : 37 22 
Charles' wain : 36 2 
chewet : 131 29 
choler : 67 324 
chuffs : 46 88 
cital : 139 62 
colour : 26 109 
colt : 43 36 
comes me cranking in : 

83 98 
comfit-makers : 90 250 
community : 96 79 
comparative : 14 82 ; 95 

67 
condition : 21 6 
confound : 25 100 
continent : 83 110 
Corinthian : 54 12 
corpse: 5 43 
countenance : 11 28 
courtesy . . . Heaven : 

94 50 
cousin : 5 31; 35 292 
cozeners : 33 255 
cressets : 79 15 
crisp : 26 106 
crop-ear : 50 68 
crowns . . . current : 

51 92-93 
cry your mercy : 121 

52 
crystal-button : 56 69 
cuckoo's bird : 133 60 
cuisses : 116 105 
culverin : 49 52 
cunning : 73 450 
currents : 49 54 
Cut : 36 5 

Cymric verse : 85 150 
daff'd : 115 96 
dagger of lath : 60 136 
Dame Partlet : 103 50 
damnable iteration : 15 



dank : 37 8 
dear expedience : 5 33 
dearest : 98 123 
defy: 31 228; 111 6 
devil . . . fiddlestick : 

74 478 
Diana's foresters: 10 

23 
disclaim'd : 29 183 
discontents : 134 76 
dispraising . . . valued : 

139 60 
distemperature : 80 34 
division : 88 210 
dog : 37 9 
dole : 45 75 
doubt : 19 183 
doubtless : 93 20 
Douglas : 7 72 
dowlas : 104 67 
drawn-fox: 106 113-114 
drone . . . bagpipe : 14 

77 
drum : 110 206 
duties of a man : 139 56 
eagles . . . bathed : 116 

99 
Earl of Athol : 7 72 
Earl of Fife: 7 71 
Earl of March : 24 84 
Eastcheap : 17 131 
ecce signum : 61 167- 

168 
eight shillings an ell : 

104 71 
elf-skin : 64 245 
emboss'd : 108 158 
embowell'd : 150 109 
enfeoff'd : 95 69 
engag'd: 126 95; 138 

44 
Enter . . . letter: 47 1 
entrance : 3 5 
envy : 22 27 ; 139 67 
esperance : 50 70 ; 141 

97 
estridges : 115 98 



ethical dative : 58 102 
Euphuism : 71 394 
exceedingly . . . con- 
cealments : 86 166- 
167 
exception : 24 78 
exhalations : 67 320 
expedition : 123 19 
eye of death : 27 143 
fac'd ancient : 120 30 
fact or . . . deeds : 99 

147-148 
Falstaff's logic : 75 488 
fat room : 53 1-2 
favours : 98 136 ; 149 

96 
fear : 114 74 
fear'd : 112 24 
fears : 25 87 
feeling disputation : 88 

205 
fern-seed : 41 84 
Finsbury : 91 254 
fire: 67 316 
fire . . . angel : 102 33 
flesh'd : 151 129 
flocks : 36 6 
fobb'd : 13 60 
foot land-rakers : 40 70 
foot of the ladder: 1136 
for more . . . uttered : 

9 106-107 
for the nonce : 19 181- 

182 
for the town's end : 

143 37-38 
forgot . . . Doncaster : 

132 58 
franklin : 39 52 
frets . . . velvet : 42 2 
frontier : 22 19 
frontiers : 49 51 
full of rest : 123 27 
furious close : 4 13 
further : 91 254 
Gadshill (place) : 15 

108 



INDEX 



157 



Gadshill (man) : 18 164 
gage: 29 173 
garters : 44 43 
gelding: 83 110 
gib cat : 13 75 
girdle break : 108 152 
good cheap : 102 43 
good cousin . . . while : 

30 211 
gorbellied : 46 87 
grandjurors : 46 90 
griefs : 124 48 
gull : 133 60 
gurnet : 118 12 
hair: 114 61 
half-moon : 54 26 
halter : 67 325 
happy . . . dole : 45 75 
hare : 14 79 
harlotry: 70391; 88 199 
harriers : 97 101 
head : 34 284 ; 114 80; 

128 25 
head of safety : 127 103 
heady : 49 54 
heaven to earth : 141 

100 
hest : 50 61 
hills : 62 207 
his : 4 18 

his death . . . twelve- 
score : 78 539-540 
hitherto : 82 74 
hold in : 40 74 
hold way : 41 81 
Holinshed: 48 35; 82 

80 ; 93 32 ; 132 58 ; 

14197; 146 25; 153 

21 
holp : 21 13 
honey of Hybla : 12 40 
hopes : 20 213 
hot in question : 5 34 
hot . . . purses : 67 323 
Hotspur's age : 7 87 ; 

97 103 
how . . . tasking : 13851 



humorous : 89 232 

I am pacified still : 109 

173 
I could divide . . . buf- 
fets : 48 30-31 
I forgive thee : 109 no 
I would . . . pot of ale : 

32 233 
in estimation : 34 272 
in faith it is : 7 76-77 
in the neck of : 126 92 
indent with : 25 87 
indentures tripartite : 

82 80 
induction : 79 2 
intemperance : 99 156 
Jack : 105 84 
join'd-stool : 70 374 
journey-bated : 123 26 
jumps with : 13 69-70 
Kate : 48 35 
Kendall Green : 63 223 
kept : 32 244 
King Cambyses' vein : 

70 381 
Knight . . . Burning 

Lamp : 102 25 
know itself : 125 74 
larger dare : 114 78 
lay by : 11 35 
leash : 53 7 
leg : 70 382 
let'st slip : 34 278 
lewd : 92 13 
life time's fool : 149 81 
liking : 101 6 
lime . . . sack : 59 122 
Lincolnshire bagpipe : 

14 77-78 
line : 51 82 
links : 102 40 
lion . . . true prince : 

65 71-72 
liquor'd : 41 82 
list : 113 51 
long-staff . . . strikers : 

40 71 



loop : 114 71 

lord marshal : 127 2 

Lord Mortimer of Scot- 
land : 99 164 

lugg'd bear : 13 75 

mad . . . malt-worms : 
40 71 

made head against : 81 
64 

Maid Marian : 106 114 

maidenhead : 113 59 

mainly : 62 200 

majority : 97 109 

make up : 144 5 

makes an angel : 118 6 

malevolent . . . aspects : 
8 97 

malt-worms: 40 71 

mammets : 51 91 

Manningtree ox : 73 446 

me : 58 102 

mean for powers : 33 
261-262 

medicines . . . love him : 
43 18 

Michaelmas : 56 53 

micher : 71 402 

milliner : 22 36 

minion : 7 83 

mistreadings : 92 1 1 

misus'd . . . press : 118 
12 

moe : 129 31 

moiety : 83 96 

moldwarp : 85 149 

Monmouth : 138 50 

Moor-ditch : 14 80 

Mordake : 7 71 

more or less : 125 68 

moulten : 85 152 

murderous suborna- 
tion : 29 163 

mutual : 4 14 

my lady the hostess : 
66 285 

neck of : 126 92 

nether stocks : 59 ] 1 5 



158 



THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 



never : 91 254 
Newgate fashion : 105 

89 
news : 6 58 
next : 91 261 
next way : 37 9 
nimble-footed : 115 95 
no vanity : 143 33 
not so much . . . butter: 

10 18 
not-pated : 56 09 
ob : 77 532 
obedient orb : 131 17 
offend : 20 218 
offering : 114 69 
old lad of the castle : 

12 40 
omission of relative : 

31 224 
oneyers : 40 73 
opinion : 94 43; 114 73; 

147 48 
opposed : 133 67 
ought : 107 134 
our book : 91 266 
our business valued : 

100 177 

our old limbs : 131 13 
out of all cess : 36 7 
owe : 139 68 
painted cloth : 119 25 
paraquito : 51 84 
parmaceti : 23 58 
passion : 70 380 
Paul's : 77 519 
pay . . . home : 34 288 
peevish : 88 198 
peppercorn . . . horse : 

101 8 

Percy (pronuncia- 
tion) : 144 57 
personal : 126 88 
Peto : 18 164 
pick-purse : 39 45 
pick-thanks : 93 25 
pismires : 32 240 
pistol : 68 345 



pitch . . . defile : 71 407 
pluck allegiance : 94 

52-53 
pocket up wrong : 108 

162 
points . . . hose : 63 

215-216 
politician : 32 24 1 
Pomgarnet : 55 36-37 
possess'd : 113 40 
possession : 94 43 
poulter : 72 430 
pouncet-box : 23 38 
powder : 150 1 12 
precedent : 55 32 
predicament : 29 168 
Prince's character: 75 

484-485 
Prince's court dis- 
grace : 93 32 
Prince's falsehood : 

76 504-505 
prisoners . . . Fife : 8 

92-95 
proclaim'd . . . the next 

of blood : 28 145 
prune (verb) : 8 98 
prune (noun) : 106 113 
puke-stocking : 56 69 
puny : 54 29 
purchase : 41 89 
quality : 124 36 
quiddities : 12 44 
rabbit-sucker : 72 430 
rated sinew : 128 17 
Ray's Proverbs: 52 

110 

razes : 37 22 
reasons : 64 240 
receipt . . . fern-seed 

. . . invisible : 41 84 
reproof: 19 192 
retirement : 113 56 
retires : 49 50 
reversion : 113 53 
revolted tapsters : 119 

28 



ridge : 11 37 
Rivo : 58 110 
roasted Manningtree 

ox . . . belly : 73 446 
rood : 6 52 
roundly : 10 20 
royal man : 66 291 
royal . . . shillings : 17 

141-142 
rub the elbow : 134 77 
sack : 9 3 

Sack and Sugar : 16 1 14 
St. Nicholas' clerks : 

39 58-59 
sarcenet : 91 253 
s'blood : 13 74 
scape : 42 14 
scoring : 142 31 
scot and lot : 150 1 14 
scutcheon : 136 141 
sealed interchangea- 
bly : 82 81 
self-will'd : 88 198 
semblably . . . like : 

142 21 
set a match : 15 108 
set off his head : 134 

88 
setter : 44 49 
seven stars : 10 12 
shot-free : 142 30-3 1 
shotten herring : 59 

127-128 
Sir Michael : 127 l 
sirrah : 19 181 
skimble-skamble stuff : 

85 154 
sneak-cup : 105 84 
so wild a libertine : 139 

72 
soldier : 24 64 
soothers : 1117 
Spanish-pouch : 56 70 
sphere : 148 65 
squires . . . beauty : 

10 23-25 
stain'd soil : 6 64 



INDEX 



159 



standing-tuck : 64 248 
starveling : 40 66 
state : 69 373 
stew'd prune : IO6113 
still: 34t>78 
strangle : 20 205 
strappado : 64 238 
stubble-land : 22 35 
stung . . . tench : 37 

15-16 
subornation : 29 163 
such solemnity : 94 59 
sue . . . peace : 125 62 
sugar : 54 22 
suggestion : 124 51 
suits : 13 73 
sullen : 20 214 
Sunday-citizens: 91258 
Sutton Co'fcT : 118 3 
swelling heavens : 88 

201 
sword and buckler : 31 

230 
taffeta : 10 9 
take a muster : 118 133 
take ... inn : 104 29 
take me with you : 73 

453-454 
tallow catch : 63 229 



task: 111 9 

task'd : 126 92 

taste: 117 119 

tench : 37 16 

that wandering . . . 
fair : 10 13 

therefore . . . now : 4 30 

therein . . . hope : 113 
49-50 

thou hast forgotten . . . 
know : 9 4-6 

thou shouldst . . . su- 
perfluous : 10 9-10 

ticklebrain : 71 392-393 

Titan: 59 118 

tithe : 103 55 

to: 96 98; 106 115 

to rob : 42 10 

toasts-and-butter : 119 
20-21 

too wilful-blame : 86 
177 

took it in snuff : 23 41 

toss : 121 66 

touch : 128 10 

trenching : 4 7 

tristful : 70 388 

Trojans : 40 66 

true man : 41 89 



true men : 67 311 
Turk Gregory : 143 44 
turkeys : 38 23 
turn tailor . . . teacher : 

91 261-262 
two o'clock : 38 30 
under-skinker : 54 23 
unyok'd : 19 198 
vaulted: 116 107 
velvet guards : 91 258 
vile participation : 96 87 
warm : 119 17 
water-colours : 134 80 
we stand opposed : 133 

67 
well, if Percy . . . pierce 

him : 144 57 
well said : 148 75 
well-respected : 122 10 
where : 113 53 
wild trick: 137 11 
with cap and knee : 

125 68 
Yedward : 17 134 
younger sons . . . 

younger brothers : 

119 27-28 
younker : 104 79 
youth : 148 77 



STANDARD ENGLISH CLASSICS 

Addison and Steele : Sir Roger de Coverley Papers (Litchfield) 

Arnold : Sohrab and Rustum (Trent and Brewster) 

Austen: Pride and Prejudice (Sicha) 

Blackmore : Lorna Doone (Trent and Brewster) 

Browning, Elizabeth Barrett: Selections (Lee) 

Browning, Robert: Selections (Lovett) 

Bunyan : Grace Abounding (Baldwin) 

Bunyan : Pilgrim's Progress (Revised Edition) 

Burke: Speech on American Taxation (Moffatt) 

Burke: Speech on Conciliation with America (Lamont) 

Burns : Representative Poems, with Carlyle's Essay on Burns (Hanson) 

Byron: Selections (Tucker) (Revised) 

Carlyle : Essay on Burns (Hanson) 

Coleridge: Ancient Mariner, Christabel, and Kubla Khan (Gibbs) 

Cook and Benham : Specimen Letters 

Cooper: Last of the Mohicans (Dunbar) 

Cooper: The Spy (Griffin) 

Defoe : Robinson Crusoe (Trent) 

De Quincey : English Mail-Coach and Joan of Arc (Turk) 

De Quincey: Revolt of the Tartars (Simonds) 

Dickens: David Copperfield (Buck) 

Dickens : Tale of Two Cities (Linn) 

Dryden : Palamon and Arcite (Eliot) 

Eliot, George : Mill on the Floss (Dorey) 

Eliot, George : Silas Marner (Witham) 

Franklin : Autobiography (Montgomery and Trent) 

Gaskell : Cranford (Simonds) 

Goldsmith : She Stoops to Conquer (Miles) 

Goldsmith : The Deserted Village and the Traveller, with Gray's 

Elegy (Pound) 
Goldsmith: Vicar of Wakefield (Montgomery) 
Huxley: Selections (Cushing) 

Irving : Oliver Goldsmith : A Biography (Gaston) 
Irving: Sketch Book (Complete) (Litchfield) 
Lamb : Essays of Elia (Wauchope) 
Lamb : Selected Essays (Wauchope) 
Lincoln : Selections (Tarbell) 
Lodge : Rosalynde (Baldwin) 
Macaulay: England in 1685 (Bates) 
Macaulay: Essay on Addison (Smith) 
Macaulay: Essay on Milton (Smith) 



GINN AND COMPANY Publishers 



STANDARD ENGLISH CLASSICS 

( Continued} 

Macaulay : Essays on Addison and Milton (in one volume) 

(Smith) 
Macaulay : Essays on Lord Clive and Warren Hastings (Gaston) 
Macaulay : Lays of Ancient Rome, The Armada, Ivry, and The 

Battle of Naseby (Daniell) 
Macaulay: Life of Samuel Johnson (Hanson) 
Macaulay : Speeches on Copyright, with Lincoln's Address at 

Cooper Union (Gaston) 
Milton: L'AUegro, II Penseroso, Comus, and Lycidas (Hunt- 
ington) 
Milton: Paradise Lost, Books I and II, and Lycidas (Sprague) 
Old Testament: Selections (Snyder) 

Palgrave : Golden Treasury. First Series (Trent and Erskine) 
Palgrave : Golden Treasury : Poems of Wordsworth, Shelley, and 

Keats (Trent and Erskine) 
Parkman : Oregon Trail (Leonard) 
Poe : Select Poems and Tales (Gambrill) 
Pope: Iliad, Books I, VI, XXII, and XXIV (Tappan) 
Pope : Rape of the Lock and Other Poems (Parrott) 
Ruskin : Selected Essays and Letters (Hufford) 
Ruskin : Sesame and Lilies (Hufford) 
Scott: Ivanhoe (Lewis) 
Scott: Lady of the Lake (Black) 
Scott: Quentin Durward (Bruere) 
Smith : Short Stories, Old and New 
Spenser: Faerie Queene. Selections (Litchfield) 
Stevenson : Inland Voyage and Travels with a Donkey (Snow) 
Stevenson: Treasure Island (Hersey) 
Tennyson : Coming of Arthur, Gareth and Lynette, Lancelot and 

Elaine, Quest of the Holy Grail, and Passing of Arthur 

(Boughton) 
Tennyson : The Princess (Cook) 
Thackeray: English Humorists (Young) 
Thackeray: History of Henry Esmond, Esq. (Moore) 
Washington's Farewell Address, Webster's First Bunker Hill 

Oration, and Lincoln's Gettysburg Address (Gaston) 

GINN AND COMPANY Publishers 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: Feb. 2009 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN COLLECTIONS PRESERVATION 

111 Thomson Park Drive 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




013 998 011 6 



$mm 



